L'Effet Papillon
by der kapitan
Summary: The world is a terrible weight to bear on your shoulders. Persona 3 rewrite.
1. prologue

Author's Note:

Here's the prologue to the story; I really have a sufficient amount of OCs now, enough for the party and another group I've decided to add into the story, but if you would _really_ like to submit an OC, PM me for the form and I'll see what I can do. :)

I also have some small adjustments to the OCs that have already been sent to me; I received a lot of Fortune Arcana characters, so I had to change some Arcana. Also, I'm really not big on original moves, so I removed those, and I made small changes to weaknesses/strengths (too many darkness/light nullification), but otherwise, everything was great! Thank you so much, everyone! If you've any questions, just let me know.

* * *

**L'Effet Papillon  
**"The Butterfly Effect"  
a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

_Time never waits.  
__It delivers all equally to the same end._

_You, who wish to safeguard the future,  
__however limited it may be…_

_You will be given one year;_

_go forth without falter,  
__with your heart as your guide…_

* * *

He's only six when his parents die. He's in the car with them when it crashes, but he doesn't remember much - just fire that felt cold, endless darkness, and a full moon. He wakes up in the white hospital room two weeks later, attached to three different machines with tubes coming out of his body, completely alone. There are bandages and gauze and scratches everywhere, and he's too young to understand what's happened, but he knows that something's wrong. They try to play it cool, try to keep him safe and happy ("He's lucky he's even alive," he hears the doctors say), but even at six he can read the sorrow and pain in his aunt's eyes.

He doesn't live in one place for longer than a couple of years. His aunt's a business woman who's always busy with meetings and new clients, which gives him a lot of free time alone. Even as a child, he doesn't mind the solitude; he knows how to keep himself busy and preoccupied, and he doesn't quite like the way everyone looks at him anyway. He realizes it's the way his aunt looks at him every time they're in the same room.

Even if he spends most of his free time sleeping and eating, he isn't too bad at making friends. It's strange, his teachers say, especially since he doesn't have a concrete home and has never really been given the chance to settle. A child who's been through what he's been through should, typically, be socially awkward and reclusive and anti-social. He isn't particularly extroverted or outwardly friendly, but "the kids just flock to him," they tell his aunt. "He's very sensitive. He's such a good reader of people," his fifth grade teacher says. "He knows what to say, but he's also very honest." Whenever it's time to leave, the class cries, but he just offers a small smile and waves goodbye.

She thinks music is his coping mechanism. As a child, he goes through her CDs and record and steals her headphones, to the point where she buys him his own for his eighth birthday. He listens to music (rock, folk, classical, everything) during all times of the day, and she notices that he even has skill for playing. He doesn't ever look sad when he's listening to music, but there's usually a far away look in his eyes - one that tells her he's not quite with her.

Sometimes his aunt hears him rolling around at night. He doesn't cry (she hasn't ever seen him cry, she realizes) or scream or ask for his parents, but he doesn't sleep well in the darkness. His brow is always furrowed and she thinks he might be seeing something terrifying, but when he awakes his eyes are calm. There's something very stirring about her nephew, she thinks, something that gives him incredible strength.

They don't ever talk about the accident. She waits for him to ask, mentally prepares for it over and over again (she's still trying to cope with losing her baby sister), but he never brings it up. Part of her is grateful because she doesn't think she'll ever be _completely_ ready to relive it, but she has to wonder. How often does he think about his parents? Does he ever? Does he remember them? Does he miss them? Does he hate them for leaving him? She's concerned, but she admits to herself that she's also a coward, so she leaves it alone. When he's fourteen and she's sorting through his laundry, she finds a crinkled picture in his pocket - it's the Christmas family photo from 1996. He walks in on her, returning home from school, and the two stare at each other for what seems like an eternity. She breaks like a dam, sobbing and spluttering and heaving, and he just holds her.

By the time he's sixteen, he has lived in America, Germany, France, Sweden, and Thailand. As they're packing for Brazil, his aunt begins to think that this sort of lifestyle isn't good for him. He becomes much more restless at night, to the point where he doesn't even sleep some days. He's always tired, she notices, but he doesn't confront her about it; he knows how important her job is, and how much he means to her. She's been selfish all these years, keeping him to stunt her own pain and emptiness. He needs to find his place in the world, which he can't do if she's dragging him around everywhere without giving him the chance to settle in.

"I think you should go home," she says, the month before their next move. He blinks at her, confused. "Home," she reiterates, waving her hand at the apartment that has been their home for the past year, "in Tatsumi Port Island. They have a great school there, you know - Gekkoukan High School. It has dorms, too, so you can stay with other students."

"Do you really want this?" he asks, after a moment's pause.

She smiles. "Do _you_ want this?" When he hesitates, she receives her answer. "You're already sixteen, and you've seen more of the world than most people will see in their lives. You need a _home_, though, kiddo. You're so good with people, but you have to leave your friends so often… And I know I'm not around as much as I should be. Don't you ever feel isolated?"

"No," he replies earnestly. She tilts her head to side, looks at him intensely; his resolve cracks, but he smiles. "Occasionally. But -"

"You deserve a home," she states firmly. "One that I can't ever really give you."

He doesn't protest too much, though he asks her repeatedly if this is is okay with her, if she'll really be fine, if he needs to be with her. She realizes more and more as the days pass, how much she has depended on her nephew until now. She feels slightly embarrassed and a little ashamed, but mostly grateful. They've had each other - and only each other - for the past ten years, but it's time for both of them to move on.

When they're standing in the airport, with her arms wrapped tightly around him, she almost forgets. When he returns her embrace, though, she internally slaps herself and forces herself to let go. "Be safe," she says, placing an affectionate kiss on his cheek. "The dorm is expecting you, and the address is there… If you have any questions, I left the director's cell phone number for you, as well. You should land in Tokyo in a couple of hours, and then take the train to Iwatodai."

He nods. "Got it. I'll be fine, Auntie. I promise." He always keeps his promises, she knows.

With a final hug and a couple of tears, she bids farewell to her nephew, who just smiles and waves goodbye.

He finds his seat (8B) and wriggles across the people already sitting. After storing his bag under the seat in front of him, he sits down and puts on his earphones. He watches, his heart rising and falling all at once, as the plane rises and the buildings grow smaller. Thinking of the past ten years and his aunt and all those he's left behind, Minato Arisato turns on his music and closes his eyes.

* * *

_Closing Song:_ "It's Time" - Imagine Dragons

* * *

So, as we all know, Minato doesn't really have a personality/set background since he's supposed to be based on the player, but I'm working off the manga adaptation for his personality. His background is kind of just something I came up with, though.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it, and hopefully the first chapter will be up soon!

_so long, fare well, auf Wiedershen, adieu!  
_der kapitan


	2. gekkoukan high school

Author's Note:

Thank to everyone who reviewed the short prologue and, of course, to everyone who's participated by sending in an OC. I have a _ton_ (legitimately - like, seventeen), so not all of them are going to be SEES members, but I will give them all an equal part in this story, I promise. DeathOverLord asked for a list of the OCs accepted, so here they are:

Ryuu Murakumo (Star), Benjiro Michaels (Fortune), Yoshioka Itou (Moon), Hiyu Akinahra (Pierrot), Jared Frederick (Death), Ami Sumeragi (Sun), Phil Luciano (Chariot), Cronus (Fortune), Kanzeon Shinko (Hanged Man), Sasaki Kusanagi (Tower), Shiori Kobayashi (Justice), Akio Kobayashi (Temperance), Makiko Vinsonago (Temperance), Zain Sano (Magician), Kiristugu Hiragana (Tower).

If you would like to change your OC's Arcana, let me know and we'll try to figure it out. Also, this is important: **if you see your OC above, please leave a review so I know you're still involved**. Often times I'll accept an OC and won't hear back from the creator, so I'll have difficulty writing them later on. If I don't hear from you, I'll remove them from the list.

Also, I've figured out some of the pairings already, but please let me know if you would like your character to have a love interest or not, and **give me a couple choices** (preferably three). (Aka Mitsuru is really popular. XD) Let me know if you're alright with pairing up your OC with another OC as well.

OKAY, well, I think that's a long enough author's note, and I hope you read through it all because it's _important_, eh? Without further ado — onto the story!

* * *

**L'Effet Papillon  
**"The Butterfly Effect"  
a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

Chapter One  
Gekkoukan High School

_I will burn my dread  
__I once ran away from the god of fear  
__and he chained me to despair_

* * *

It has been ten years since Minato has seen Japan, so he's not sure if he feels nostalgic or happy when the should-be-familiar scenery rushes past him. Though this is the place where he was born, he's spent more than half of his life living in different parts of the world; he's not sure if this feels like home. To be honest, though, he's not even sure what a home is supposed to feel like — he's never lived in one place long enough to know. Though part of him is sad that he's leaving his only relative, the other is excited; maybe, he thinks, he'll finally found out.

When it turns dark, the train suddenly lurches to a sudden stop, then continues on as normal.

"_Er, please excuse that momentary pause. We had some, uh, technical difficulties, but everything seems to be fine now. Our next destination is Iwatodai."_

Minato glances around, sees that it's almost midnight and that he is the only one on this train. He's become accustomed to being alone, so it doesn't frighten him, but he is a bit concerned about the time. _"They were expecting me two hours ago,"_ he thinks with a frown. He holds up his cell phone, which has been dead for the past two hours, making it impossible for him to contact them and let them know about the delay. _"I hope they aren't too worried."_

_"Last stop, Iwatodai."_

He gathers his belongings and gets off at the station; as the doors close behind him, he sees the large clock overhead strike midnight. He jumps as the blaring music in his ears crackles and dies, and as everything around him shuts down. _"Like usual,"_ he thinks despite being startled, and continues on his way.

For as long as he can remember, Minato has always been aware of this strange experience, when everything that runs on electricity powers down and stops working. It always happens right when it turns midnight, no matter where he is — California, Munich, Nice, Stockholm, Bangkok, and, apparently, Tatsumi Port Island. It's never really bothered him, other than being inconvenient when he needs to type up a last minute paper, but it's probably because he's grown up with it. It's normal to him, even if it shouldn't be.

He walks past the coffins under the bleak moon, indifferent to his eerie surroundings. When he finds the dorm that will house him, he enters — and finds that he is not alone.

A strange-looking boy sits behind the counter, his eyes bright blue and his skin nearly translucent. "You're late," he says, surprising Minato. "I've been waiting a long time for you."

"Sorry," he replies, still wondering what a child is doing in a high school dorm. Maybe he just works here, Minato thinks, though the striped pajamas strike him as odd for work apparel.

Out of no where, a red notebook appears on the desk. Minato has to blink and rub his eyes to make sure that it's actually there. "Now if you want to proceed, please sign your name there. It's a contract. Don't worry, all it says is that you'll accept full responsibility for your actions. You know, the usual stuff."

That doesn't sound like the usual at all, but Minato figures there's no point in arguing. He's signed plenty of papers up to this point, so what's the harm in signing another? He picks up a pen, scribbles down _Minato Arisato_, and the boy takes the contract; Minato's certain that it actually disappears into thin air.

"No one can escape time. It delivers us all to the same end. You can't plug your ears and cover your eyes. And so it begins," the boy says with an enigmatic smile. Minato feels a chill course up his spine.

And just like that, the boy disappears as well.

Minato splutters, bewildered and confused. He's seen many bizarre things in his life — people turning into coffins, blood appearing on walls and floors, TVs and stereos turning off and on — but this tops the list.

He tries to peer over the counter, thinking that maybe the boy is trying to play a game of hide and seek, when he hears footsteps coming down the stairs. He hears a feminine gasp, which pulls him away from the counter, and his heart races when he sees her going for something that looks strangely like a gun—

"Takeba, wait!"

The lights flicker back on as a redheaded female joins them. Minato blinks, his eyes trying to adjust to the lighting, and he sees that the brunette has her fingers pressed to the gun strapped to her thigh.

"I didn't think you'd arrive so late," says the redhead, drawing his gaze away from the weapon. "My name is Mitsuru Kirijo. I'm one of the students who live in this dorm."

Despite the familiarity between Mitsuru and Minato, the brunette still looks weary. "… Who's he?"

"He's a transfer student," Mitsuru answers. "It was a last minute decision to assign him here. He'll eventually be moved to a room in the boys' dorm."

"… Is it okay for him to be here?"

_"What a welcome,"_ Minato thinks sardonically as he catches the brunette's eyes. She frowns and directs her vision to the tiled floor.

"I guess we'll see," Mitsuru says with a chuckle. "This is Yukari Takeba. She'll be a junior this spring, just like you."

The introduction does little to ease her apprehension, apparently. "… Hey," she greets lamely.

He's not sure how much he likes this girl who still looks like she's going to pull a gun (Why does she even have a gun? Is that legal here?) on him, but he smiles politely and extends his hand to her anyway. His aunt taught him to always be polite, even to those who aren't polite to him. "Nice to meet you."

She blinks at his hand, surprised by the gesture, and timidly takes it. "Uh, y-yeah… Nice to meet you too…"

"It's getting late," Mitsuru says, intervening, "so you should get some rest. Your room is on the second floor, at the end of the hallway. Your things should already be there."

The redhead turns to Yukari, who falters. "Oh… I'll show you the way," she directs to Minato, without looking him fully in the eye. "Follow me." He and Mitsuru silently bid goodnight to each other, then he wordlessly follows Yukari up the stairs. She takes him to the end of the hallway and gestures to the last door. "This is it… Pretty easy to remember, huh? … Since it's right at the end of the hall. Oh yeah, make sure you don't lose your key, or you'll never hear the end of it… So, any questions?"

He thinks of just dismissing her and going to bed, but the contract and the strange boy pop up in his mind again. "Does that kid live here, too?" he asks.

The immediate dip in her brow gives him his answer. "What kid? What are you talking about?" He can't help but smile a bit at her jumpiness, and she scowls. "C'mon, it's not funny." She turns to leave while he's still chuckling, but she stops and faces him with an expression of mild fear. "Um… Can I ask you something? On your way here from the station, was everything okay?"

Minato temporarily forgets how strange it's supposed to be that, at midnight, all those bizarre things occur. "What do you mean?"

Yukari looks exasperated. "You know what I— … Never mind." She sighs and droops her shoulders. "It seems like you're alright."

He's not sure if it's a compliment or not (it definitely doesn't sound like one), so he doesn't respond.

"Well, I better get going… Um, I'm sure you still have other questions, but let's save them for later, okay? Goodnight."

"Goodnight," he replies. He thinks he sees a flicker of a smile on her face, but she leaves before he can decide if it's real or just a product of the awful hallway lighting.

He uses his keys to enter his room and is pleased to find that all of his luggage has already arrived. He drops his bag to the floor and immediately falls onto the bed, not caring that it's not dressed. Instead of wondering about strange boys in striped pajamas and irritable girls with guns, Minato falls into a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

Even if the Iwatodai Dorm is situated a ways from Gekkoukan High School, the train ride there is lovely. The sun is bright, the skies are clear, the ocean is blue and welcoming; Minato wonders if this is the Tatsumi Port Island he left behind as a child. "It's a great sight, huh?" Yukari asks beside him, much more chipper than she was last night. Earlier, Mitsuru had sent her to escort him to the school; though he's sure he could have found it on his own, he appreciates the sentiment nonetheless.

"Yeah," he replies calmly, blue eyes skimming the reflections in the water, "beautiful."

Yukari points over his shoulder, forcing his eyes to collection of buildings in the distance. "So, that's it. See? There it is."

For some reason, the sight of his new school takes his breath away. "Wow."

Yukari giggles softly beside him, but says nothing else when she's how enraptured he is. She notices someone familiar out of the corner of her eye, however, and waves. "Oh, I didn't see you until just now. Good morning, Ami!" When Minato tears his eyes away from the scenery, he sees that she's talking to a petite female with sandy blonde hair and blue glasses. She's wearing the Gekkoukan High School uniform. "Ami, this is—"

"Our new resident!" the girl chirps, wearing a bright smile. "Mitsuru-senpai told me you shower up a little later than expected. I'm Ami Sumeragi, a first year. So... I guess that would make you my senpai."

"It's nice to meet you," he responds. "I'm—"

"Minato Arisato." They exchange a small laugh (his is more of an awkward chuckle), when the train rolls to a stop. "Well, I hope your first day goes well, Minato-senpai." She nods at Yukari. "You, too, Yukari!" Yukari beams as she waves goodbye to who skips away.

"There's another second year living in the dorm — Ryuu Murakumo," Yukari explains as they approach the front gate. "But up 'til now it's just been the two of us. It's kind of nice to have another to make the numbers even." She almost looks grateful when she turns to face him; he thinks he's seeing someone completely different from last night. "Well, this is it. We're here. Welcome to Gekkoukan High School! You're going to love it!"

She'd make a great tour guide, he thinks as she leads him inside to the shoe lockers. "You're okay from here, right?" she asks after they trade out their outside shoes for their inside ones. "You should go see your homeroom teacher first. The Faculty Office is right there to the left. Do you have any questions before I go?"

"Which class are you in?"

"Me?" She shakes her head. "I dunno… I haven't looked at the classroom assignments yet. Ah, hey." He turns to her expectantly. "About last night… Don't tell anyone what you saw, okay? See ya later."

Minato watches her leave before wandering over to the bulletin board, where a number of people are standing. One girl in particular — curled honey blonde hair with dark pink highlights, dark brown eyes, royal blue sweater, thigh highs — wears a triumphant grin. "Ooo, looks like I got lucky again," she murmurs, eyes scanning over the names on the list greedily. She's standing in front of the listings for second years, so Minato politely taps her on the shoulder. "Hm?"

"Excuse me," he says, smiling apologetically (though he's not in the fault). "I can't see the board."

"Oh, sorry, cutie," she replies, so casually that it startles him. She pauses when she actually sees him, and unabashedly examines him from head to toe. "Hey, I've never seen you around here before. Are you new?"

"Just transferred."

"Ooh, you're the one Junpei was talking about, then." Junpei? Who was Junpei and why was he talking about him? "You _are _pretty good-lookin'. I bet you'll be popular around here soon, Mr. Mysterious." She winks as she nudges him with her elbow. He's stuck between enjoying her cheerfulness and being turned off by her forwardness. "I'm Yoshioka Itou, by the way, but you can just call me Yoshi. I hope we'll see more of each other!" With an award-winning smile, she bids him farewell and heads up the nearby staircase.

Just as he thinks, _"Wow, people here are really nice,"_ he's pushed roughly to the side into a girl who shrieks. "S-sorry!" he apologizes, trying to steady both her and himself.

"Geez," she mumbles, slapping his hands away. "I find out we're not even in the same class and now this…" She tightens her dark ponytail before frowning at Minato; instantly he feels the hair on his neck stand on end. "Hey," she snaps, though he's relieved that it's not at him, "watch where you're going. Don't go pushing people around at eight o'clock in the morning, especially on the first day of school."

"Sorry, Rio," says the perpetrator, wincing. He looks a little afraid, Minato notes. "I jus' wanted to see what class I was in, ya know?" The blond-haired boy has a very distinct accent that Minato can't quite pin down. "'Didn't mean to run into ya like that, friend. No hard feelin's, right?" he asks with a laugh, probably in an attempt to brush off her heavy glare.

"It's fine," Minato assures, even if the girl, Rio, rolls her eyes and walks away.

As soon as she's gone, the blond's shoulders fall and he sighs. "Dodged that bullet… She's a bit o' a scary one, that Rio. Oh, but, really, sorry for the run-in. I was runnin' a bit late and was worried they'd take down the bulletins. They did last year when I transferred and I thought I'd pass out from bein' so nervous…"

"You're a transfer student, too?" Minato asks while searching the class rosters for his name.

"Oh yea. Born and bred in the good ol' South o' America! Not South America, I mean, I'm from Georgia…" He chuckles at his own blunder and rubs the back of his head embarrassedly. "You're new this year, huh? Well, everyone here's pretty friendly. They're big on making new uh, how do they say it… '_Tomodachi'?_ Eh-heh, my Japanese's still in the workin', though I'm sure ya could tell… Oh, my name's Benjiro Michaels."

Minato shakes Benjiro's extended hand. "Minato Arisato."

"Pleasure, Minato. Hey, looks like we're gonna be in the same class this year!" Sure enough, there's his name — at the very bottom of 2-F's roster. "Ya better get goin', though; Toriumi-sensei's pretty strict and the openin' ceremony'll be startin' soon. She's probably in the Faculty Office, down that hall over there. See ya 'round!"

The people here are much friendlier than the schoolmates he had in Stockholm. Feeling optimistic about the day, Minato follows Benjiro's directions down the hall with a lifted spirit. He makes sure to knock before poking his head inside the Faculty Room, which is inhabited by a woman with short hair and a light salmon-colored suit. "Oh," she says, noticing his presence, "are you the new student?" He nods. "Minato Arisato… 2nd year, correct? Wow, you've lived in a lot of different places… Let's see, in 1999… That was what, ten years ago? Your parents—" She gasps and looks up at him sorrowfully (the way everyone looks at him when they find out). "I'm sorry. I've been so busy, I didn't have time to read this beforehand."

It doesn't bother him, to be honest. He's used to the looks, the pity and the sympathy, the initial shock that comes with finding out that your student has lost his parents. It's not a big deal, he told himself as a child, and it's stuck with him since. There might be something wrong with that train of thought, but it makes things easier for him.

"I'm Ms. Toriumi," she introduces in a softer tone. "I teach Composition. Welcome to our school."

"Nice to meet you," he says politely, which she smiles at.

"Have you seen the classroom assignments? You're in 2-F; that's my class. But first, we need to go to the auditorium. The Welcoming Ceremony will be starting soon. Follow me."

* * *

The school day flies by, and it feels as though it ends before it even really begins. Minato stifles a yawn and stretches, already tired out despite it being only the first day. _"Maybe I'll take a nap when I get back,"_ he thinks, yearning for the comfort and warmth of his bed.

Just as he gets up to leave, another student with a baseball cap approaches him. "S'up, dude? How's it goin'?"

"Who are you?"

"Me? I'm Junpei Iori. Nice to meet ya. I transferred here when I was in eighth grade. I know how tough it is bein' the new kid… So I wanted to say, 'hey.' … See what I nice guy I am!" Minato chuckles, but before he can say anything, Yukari enters the room and joins them. "Hey, it's Yuka-tan! I didn't think we'd be in the same class again."

She sighs. "At it again, huh? I swear, you'll talk to anyone if they'll listen. Did you ever think you might be bothering someone?"

Minato winces at the condemning tone in her voice, but Junpei doesn't look too wounded. "What? I was just bein' friendly!"

"If you say so." She turns to Minato. "Anyway, looks like we're in the same homeroom…"

He bobs his head. "Yeah, I know."

"Funny, huh?"

Junpei waves his hands, drawing the attention back to him. "Um, hello? Are you forgetting that I'm in this class, too? By the way, I heard you two came to school together this morning. What'd up with that? C'mon, gimme the dirt!" So _this_ was the Junpei Yoshioka had been talking about earlier.

Minato isn't bothered much by what Junpei says, but obviously it's different for Yukari, who looks like she's about to thrash him. "W-what are you talking about!? We live in the same dorm. There's nothing going on, okay? Why are people even talking about it…!? Now you have me worried…" Was the prospect of being with him _that_ repulsive? "Hey… You didn't say anything to anyone about… you know what, did you?"

He shakes his head no. "Uh-uh."

Yukari breathes a small sigh of relief. "Okay, good. … Seriously, don't say anything about last night, alright?"

Junpei stares, and Minato's stuck between groaning and laughing.

"W-what?"

"L-last night…?" Junpei gasps, ogling eyes shifting from Yukari to Minato disbelievingly.

"W-wait a minute! Don't get the wrong idea!" She smacks Junpei but Minato's the one who feels more insulted. "Listen! I just met him yesterday, and there's absolutely nothing between us! Geez… I've gotta go. I've got something to take care of for the archery team. But, you better not start any rumors!" With another hard glower directed at both of them, she leaves.

"She really laid it on thick, huh?" Junpei asks with a snicker. "Who cares, though? No one takes rumors seriously, anyway. She's so paranoid… But, hey! It's your first day here, and people are already talkin' about you! Believe it or not, she's actually pretty popular. You da man!" He pats Minato roughly on the back, causing him to cough. "Heheh, this is gonna be a fun year. I can feel it!"

_"You can tell all that from a raging female and first day rumors?"_ Minato wants to ask, but he just scratches the back of his neck and nods. "Yeah, hopefully."

"Hopefully?" Junpei scoffs, throwing an arm around his shoulders and reeling him in. "Dude, you gotta be more confident than that if you want a girl like Yukari." Minato's attempt to protest is stifled by Junpei suddenly waving over to and yelling at a familiar pair in their classroom. "Oi! Yoshi-tan, Benji! This my new pal, Minato Arisato."

"We've met," Yoshioka replies with a knowing smile. Junpei's eyebrows shoot up in surprise; she punches him in the gut, forcing him to wheeze and step back. "This morning, at the bulletin board, doofus. How was your first day, Minato?"

"Good," he answers, half focused on the pained boy beside him. "Easy, but it's just the first day."

"Better not get too used to that," Benjiro laughs. "Bet you missed that over the break, huh, Junpei?"

The addressed flicks his wrist dismissively, though Minato can tell he's still recovering from the sucker punch. "Yeah, you kiddin' me…?" The honey blonde brandishes another fist, which he instinctively jumps back at. "C'mon, Yoshi-tan, have some mercy… It's just the first day of school."

"I only give what's asked for, Junpei," she replies cheerily, then pats him on the head. "Anyway, I gotta go. I've gotta coffee date with Kazahaya-senpai."

"The captain of the swimming team!?" Junpei asks, jaw dropping.

She winks. "The one and only! See you boys later." She wiggles her fingers at them in goodbye, then slips through the door.

"The year just started and she's already got a date," Junpei mumbles, sounding downtrodden.

"She's got the gift," Benjiro says, chuckling. "Anyway, I ought'a get goin', too; the first meeting for the Track Team is today. See ya lads later."

Minato and Junpei (still looking a little envious) say their goodbyes to the blond before heading for the exit as well. "You live in the Iwatodai dorm, don't you?" Junpei asks. "Well, my house is kinda the same way, so let's walk together." On the way to the station, Junpei points out the popular Paulownia Mall and all the stores that compose it. "You'll probably be spending a lot of time there," he says. "There's a karaoke bar and an arcade… Lots of places hire for part time, too."

"Do you have a job?" Minato asks out of curiosity.

Junpei shrugs. "Nah. My full time job is bein' beautiful and entertaining." Minato snickers quietly under his breath while Junpei chortles loudly. "Anyway, this is my turn. See you tomorrow!"

Minato thanks the capped teen, then heads to the station and boards his train back to the dorm. When he returns, he sees the three females, plus an unfamiliar male. "Welcome back," greets Mitsuru as he signs his name on the sign-in sheet on the counter. "I hope your first day went well."

"It did," he replies, briefly running the day's events through his mind. A train ride, finding his class, meeting new people, dealing with rumors, seeing the place that will eventually become his home — all in all, he thinks it went quite well.

"Hey there! We haven't met yet; I'm Ryuu Murakumo." The boy introducing himself to him has an awfully pretty face, Minato thinks immediately. When he realizes he's staring (with mild embarrassment), Minato bobs his head in greeting. "I'm a second year, too, but I'm in 2-E. Yukari told me you're in her class." He brushes some light blond hair out of his eyes, but it falls back into place almost immediately. "It's nice to have another guy my age around."

"It's very kind of you to introduce yourself, but I think Arisato is a bit tired from the day's journey and excitement," Mitsuru comments with a chuckle. For some reason, Ryuu flushes, quietly apologizes, and sinks into his seat as he tries to cover his face with his PS Vita. "Why don't you get some rest?" she suggests to the blue-haired teen. "You'll have plenty of time to meet and get to know the dorm later."

He contemplates protesting and staying up, but Yukari's busy with her cell phone and Ryuu's now focused entirely on his game and Minato can feel his eye lids drooping. He silently dismisses himself, nodding to Ami, Mitsuru, Yukari, and Ryuu, and heads up the stairs. He's so exhausted, he ignores the fact that his belongings are still packed up and his bed is still without dressing. He falls down on top of the naked mattress, reveling in its softness, and closes his eyes.

* * *

"He seems nice," Ryuu says, once Minato's in his room. "A little quiet, but… He's in a new place, so that's to be expected, I think."

"You think?" Yukari asks as she quickly punches in a text to her friend.

He shrugs. "Yeah. It's natural to be a little shy when you're new."

"I thought his file said he was born here, though," says Ami. "He moved after the death of his parents, but this is his birthplace."

Yukari frowns. "That doesn't mean it's his home, though…"

At that moment, a confident-looking student steps into the lobby, headed towards the door. "I'm going out for a bit," he announces when he receives questioning looks from the other four. "Have you guys seen the newspaper? There's a lot going on right now."

"I know," Mitsuru replies, closing the book in her lap. "People who had no problems before are suddenly developing acute cases of Apathy Syndrome… I've seen it in the news quite often lately. They say it's due to stress, but…"

Akihiko smirks as he nods at her statement. "Yeah, right. It has to be _them_. Otherwise, it's not worth my time."

Mitsuru gives him a very hard stare. "You have a one-track mind… Will you be okay on your own? The Chairman will be here for the next few days, but after that, I can…"

"Don't worry. I'm just getting a little practice." He waves her off, then heads for the doors. "Don't stay up too late waiting for me."

"This isn't a game, Akihiko," the redhead mutters, shaking her head.

"He'll be fine," Ryuu reassures with a smile. "Akihiko-senpai's always been good at watching his own back." She doesn't look very convinced, he realizes, though it's probably because she's known him longer than anyone. He chuckles sheepishly and sinks a little more into the couch, embarrassed. "W-well, anyway, I wonder if we'll get any new members this year."

The reproachful look Yukari instantly shoots him makes him want to melt into the ground. "Hey, ssh! What if he overhears? He's already seen some really weird things…"

"Like your Evoker?" he asks mockingly.

Her cheeks turn pink in shame. "I-I was scared alright? I mean, I know it wouldn't have helped much, but…" She shakes her head as she stands up. "Whatever. I'm going to bed." Her brown optics shift from Mitsuru to Ryuu to Ami, as though she's inwardly debating something. In the end, Yukari just sighs and dismisses herself from the lounge with a quietly muttered, "Good night."

"Do you think we'll get any new members?" Ryuu asks again when Yukari is gone.

Mitsuru's smile is very enigmatic when she says, "Perhaps. We'll see what the year has in store for us."

* * *

_Closing Song:_ "It's Time" - Imagine Dragons

* * *

Trying to introduce some OCs into the canon, so the canon text isn't too boring, ha ha. I'll divert a bit from the original script every now and then, for obvious reasons, and so it doesn't get boring to read since we're all familiar with it.

**Also, if you didn't read the above author's note, do it or I'll kick your ass.** Just kidding, not really. But seriously, do it, please. XD

OCs that appeared in this chapter:  
Ami Sumeragi (SuperNova23)  
Yoshioka Itou (mine)  
Benjiro Michaels (Pochee)  
Ryuu Murakumo (DeathOverLord)

_arrivederci, amore mio,  
_der kapitan


	3. persona

Author's Note:

Wheee, thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. Even if I was kinda guilting you into it, I do appreciate the support. XD Anyway, so we addressed the first topic, which was great, but, uh, some of you forgot the second, so I'll put it here again for obvious reasons: **if you would like your OC to have a pairing, give me three options**. (But if you've specifically stated that your OC doesn't need/want a pairing, you can disregard this entirely, ha ha.) **By three options, I mean three characters you think would be compatible with your OC**. Especially those of you who requested Mitsuru — I can't very well pair her up with four different characters (I mean, I _could_, but…), so I need alternatives. This is why I asked if it would be alright if some of you wanted to pair your OC with another OC. So if you guys could answer that, I would really appreciate it and that'd be super awesome~ :)

So enough of that! I'm sorry to those of you who want to see your OC quickly; but introducing them all at once would be a hassle for both you and I. I really want to integrate them into the original plot, like they're supposed to be there, which will take time. I hope you'll continue to stick by me, though!

* * *

**L'Effet Papillon  
**"The Butterfly Effect"  
a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

Chapter Two  
Persona

_I will burn my dread  
__I once ran away from the god of fear  
__and he chained me to despair_

* * *

Minato's second day of school is fairly uneventful, aside from gossiping school girls and bailing Junpei out of a possible long lecture from Toriumi-sensei. (Though apparently the latter earned him some brownie points with the rest of the class.) After classes end, he and Junpei decide to tour around Paulownia Mall for a little while, this time with accompaniment from Benjiro. "I love comin' here," Benjiro announces as they stroll through the main entrance, so that they're standing in the plaza. "There's always so much to do."

"I think you're giving this place too much credit," Junpei replies. "Trust me," he mutters to Minato, "you'll probably get sick of this place after spending enough time here. Besides, Benji's a foreigner; he's intrigued by the the smallest things."

Benjiro scowls. "I'm only half foreigner, technically," he rebukes.

"Dude, you lived in America your entire life. Bein' half Japanese barely counts."

While Benjiro looks more than slightly offended by the comment, Minato turns to him with mild curiosity. "You're half Japanese?" he asks. Though his first name is a bit of a give away, there's little else that implies his ethnicity: his hair's golden blond, his bangs gelled up, eyes dark brown, skin tan, build quite lean, rather tall. Minato has lived in America, so he can say with confidence that Benjiro very much suits the image of the American male. (It probably doesn't help that his accent is thicker than oil, either.)

"Yeah, my ma's full Japanese, so I'm half," he replies, shooting a venomous glare in Junpei's direction. (The capped boy just shrugs and sets his sights on the video game store.) "It was her idea to send me here, actually. Thought I should get in touch with my 'other half,' ya know?"

Minato bobs his head in understanding; though not completely the same, the situation with his aunt is familiar with Benjiro's story.

"Hey, that's gotta be new." Junpei points to an elaborately decorated store with the words _Otaku's Paradise_ printed above it. Standing outside it is a petite girl with bubble gum pink hair and dark green eyes, dressed in an equally pink dress, red boots, and (Minato actually has to blink to make sure he's seeing right) black cat ears. "Yeah," Junpei murmurs when he finally focuses the girl, who's waving excitedly to passersby, "definitely new. There's no way I could miss something like this."

"She looks a bit familiar, don't'cha think?" Benjiro asks as they draw closer.

"I dunno, man. How many girls do you know at our school have pink hair?"

"Junpei-kun!" the girl cries when she spots him, waving her hands much more enthusiastically.

Benjiro snickers as Junpei blanches from all the people that stop to stare at him. "Well, it seems like she knows ya pretty well, Junpei," he says slyly, nudging him with his elbow. "Better go say 'hello.' It's rude to make a lady wait."

Grudgingly, Junpei crosses the threshold, though not without dragging his companions with him. "H-hey there," he greets unsurely, racking through his mind so that he can pin a name to the face.

"What's wrong, Junpei-kun?" she asks, sensing his hesitance.

"A-ah, nothing…"

Shrugging, she turns to Minato and Benjiro. "You must be in Junpei-kun's class," she says, smiling. "I know for a fact I've seen you around," (she looks at Benjiro when she says this), "but… I don't believe I've ever seen you."

"I just transferred to Gekkoukan," Minato replies. "This is just my second day."

She makes an 'o' with her mouth before grinning very warmly at him. "Well, welcome to Gekkoukan High School, and I hope you have a wonderful time. I'm Makiko Vinsonago, a second year."

Junpei's jaw unlatches the moment he hears the name, and before Minato can introduce himself in kind, the former yells, "Makiko!? That's you!?"

She blinks at the outburst, then laughs good-naturedly. "Oh, is that why you looked so confused? Yes, of course it's me!" She reaches up and pulls the pink bob from her head, letting loose a waterfall of auburn hair that brushes against her shoulder blades. Upon close inspection, Minato can make out the red and pink highlights near her bangs. "It's just a wig, of course, for work. Have you never watched Tokyo Mew Mew?" Benjiro mouths "Tokyo Mew Mew?" to Minato, who shrugs unknowingly, and Junpei just shakes his head. "Right, well, I can see how that wouldn't exactly interest you… Why don't you spend some time in here? We just opened over the break, you know!"

"Actually, I have to head back to the dorm now," Minato replies, feeling slightly guilty for the crestfallen expression on her face afterwards. "Maybe some other time, though."

Makiko smiles gratefully as she bows. "Well, thank you very much, Stranger-kun. I hope we'll be seeing more of each other. Ah, you don't be a stranger, either, Junpei-kun." Junpei grins impishly, and the trio of boys bid goodbye to the otaku waitress before heading towards the train station. They split up from there, with Minato en route to the dorm in just a matter of minutes. When he returns, he sees Yukari sitting down, talking to an older man in the other chair.

"Oh," she says, head perking up, "he's back."

The sophisticated-looking gentleman turns his head to look at Minato as well; his brown eyes smile kindly behind his glasses. "So, this is our new guest. Good evening," he says, as both he and Yukari stand up. "My name is Shuji Ikutsuki. I'm the Chairman of the Board for your school. 'Ikutsuki'… Hard to say, isn't it?" he asks with a heavy sigh. "That's why I don't like introducing myself. Even I get tongue-tied sometimes… Please, have a seat."

Minato bobs his head as he works his way around, so that he he can sit on the couch beside Yukari. She flashes him a small smile before she retakes her seat, and Ikutsuki does as well. "I apologize for the confusion regarding your accommodations," he says. "However, it may take a while longer before you receive a proper room assignment. Is there anything you'd like to ask?"

Minato thinks of all the questions that immediately pop up, but decides he doesn't care much why the chairman is here, and he already knows who else lives here. He glances at Yukari for a brief moment, recalling their first meeting, and contemplates raising the question. He remembers how insistent she was about him just leaving it alone, though (which really just made him want to ask more and fueled his curiosity), so he shakes his head. "No, I'm good."

"Then, I hope you have a successful school year. Now, if you'll excuse me…" He stands up to shake Minato's hand. "You must be tired from all the excitement. You should go to bed early. As they say, 'The early bird catches the bookworm!' … Please forgive the bad pun."

Yukari catches the look on Minato's face before he even realizes it's there. "You'll get used to his lame jokes," she says as Ikutsuki takes his leave. "But why don't you head to bed now? It's getting late."

She seems a little antsy, he observes, but agrees anyway. "Alright. Good night."

* * *

When Ikutsuki opens the door to the control room, he sees Mitsuru and Ami sitting in front of the monitors, Yukari making two cups of hot chocolate, and Ryuu spinning in his chair while playing his video game. "Working hard?" he asks, chuckling. Mitsuru smiles knowingly, while Ryuu jumps up in his seat, blushing, and tries to hide his console. "So," Ikutsuki begins as he walks towards the monitors, "how's he doing?"

"He went to bed a little while ago," Mitsuru answers. "He's asleep now. Mr. Chairman, do you think he's…?"

"Well, let's wait and see for now. The Dark Hour is approaching."

All eyes turn to the clock ticking on the wall. Yukari's heart rate increases with each timely click of the hand; she feels it stop when both point to the solid '12' at the top.

"Hmm…" Ikutsuki leans in towards the screen, where Minato is sleeping soundly in his (finally made and dressed) bed. "He's still sleeping. The Dark Hour occurs every day at twelve midnight; you could say it's the 'hidden' hour. During this time, an ordinary person Transmogrifies into a coffin, and is oblivious to all that occurs."

"Then," Yukari begins, "he must be…"

"As you can see, he's retained his human form. He's asleep, but he's definitely experiencing the Dark Hour. The only question that remains is whether or not he has the potential. Although, he must. … If he didn't, they would've preyed on him by now."

Yukari visibly shivers. "Scary…"

"Do you think he'll join us, then?" Ami asks. "It'd be great to have another comrade and friend, don't you think? Oh, thanks, Yukari!" She bobs her head in thanks as Yukari hands her a steaming cup of hot chocolate. "It would be nice to have another boy around, since Akihiko-senpai's been away so often lately…"

"Senpai's just dedicated is all," Ryuu says with a shrug. "Fighting the Shadows and getting rid of them…"

"Honestly, I'm not so sure if it's the Shadows he wants to get rid of," Mitsuru replies. "He's more dedicated to training than to actually eradicating them. If they were all to suddenly disappear, I can imagine him being rather disappointed."

"Mitsuru-senpai," Ami murmurs.

The redhead sighs. "Yes, I apologize; this isn't the time for that kind of talk. Shall we continue to monitor Arisato for a few more days?"

Ikutsuki nods. "Yes, I think that would be for the best."

Though a part of her does rejoice at the prospect of having another teammate her age, Yukari frowns. "I feel kinda bad, though, spying on him like this."

"We don't really have a choice in the matter, though," Mitsuru says, though it doesn't reassure the brunette much. "In any event, there's no need to worry about that at the moment. For now, let's just observe."

* * *

The Dark Hour has arrived. With a small hum of approval, Phil Luciano snaps shut his gold pocket watch and tucks it back into his blazer. "It doesn't appear as though much will be happening tonight," he declares into the night. "Just in case, though, let's keep up the watch through the rest of the Hour. We wouldn't want to get sloppy, now would we?" He turns to a figure hidden in the shadows, who simply nods his head in acknowledgment. "Would you like to contact Kanzeon and let her know, or would you rather I do it?" The figure doesn't respond, but he chuckles. "Yes, please try to calm yourself Kusanagi. Sometimes I forget how talkative you are."

"Not all of us enjoy hearing ourselves talk as much as you do, Luciano," the figure snaps.

"Ah, there's that fire." The harsh glare Kusanagi shoots him is easily brushed off with another chuckle as he raises his fingers to his headset. "Kanzeon," he says as he pushes the button, "stay at your station. Everything looks fine, but I believe it would be in our best interests to be cautionary. Pass the message on to Shiori and Akio as well, please." After receiving a response, he releases the headset and turns to Kusanagi, only to see that the dark-haired male is staring in the direction of the school. "Quite a sight, isn't it?"

"I still hate it," he replies, crossing his arms over his chest.

"It has a rather ethereal glow about it," Phil says, not quite smiling. "I should think it would be a rather interesting place to visit, don't you?" Just by the look on his face, he can tell that Kusanagi doesn't agree at all, and Phil actually laughs. "No, I suppose you're right. I'm sure it's a very disgusting place."

"You're planning on going in, though," Kusanagi says, giving him a very hard look. "I heard you discussing it with the older Kobayashi the other day."

"That's true," Phil answers, not denying it. "I think it would be rather stupid to ignore something so large. It's important to educate ourselves, after all." With a mask of indifference, he leans against the alley way wall and pulls out his stiletto knife to begin carving patterns into the brick. "Quite like you, however, Akio was very adverse to the idea. I feel as though he's just worried about his sister, but I assured him she wouldn't be going in — and if she did, it wouldn't be alone. I like to think of myself as sensitive man, after all."

Kusanagi snorts loudly, and a small smirk tugs at Phil's lips.

"In any event, I won't be making any rash decisions yet," he continues. "It would be foolish to leave the tower alone for much longer, but I believe we may have more important problems to address at the moment."

Kusanagi quirks an eyebrow. "What problems?"

Phil leans his head back, so that his green eyes are focused on the yellow moon hanging above them. In an almost whisper, he breathes, "It's almost the full moon."

* * *

_Minato feels like he's flying. The tiled floor zooms underneath him until he sees a large door, which opens to reveal a room covered in blue. The back wall is a chain-link and is very reminiscent of an upward-moving elevator. Above is a large clock, whose hands spin continuously, never stopping. Minato is now sitting in a chair, and across the table from him is a bright-eyed woman and an old man with a long nose._

_ "Welcome to the Velvet Room, my dear young man," the man greets. "My name is Igor. I am delighted to make your acquaintance. This is Elizabeth. She is a resident here, like myself."_

_ The blonde bows deeply in respect as she smiles enigmatically at him. "Pleased to meet you."_

_ "This place excises between dream and reality," Igor explains, "mind and matter… It's been years since we've had a guest." He waves his hand and a familiar red notebook appears on the table. Minato's eyes widen in recognition when he identifies it as the contract the little boy had him sign when he first checked into the dorm. "Only those who have signed the contract can enter this place… Henceforth, you shall be welcome here in the Velvet Room. You are destined to hone your unique ability, and you will require my help to do so. I only ask one thing in return… That you abide by the contract, and assume responsibility for the choices you make."_

_ This seems too heavy for a real dream, Minato thinks as he continues to stare at his signature. But is this _really_ a dream? He remembers being told that when you dream, you can only dream of faces you've seen before _— _faces of family, friends, classmates, even just passersby. Minato is certain, though, that he's never seen this man or woman in his entire life, regardless of all the places he's been to. Can this really be a dream, then?_

_ "I don't understand," he answers honestly._

_ Igor chuckles, as though he expects that answer. "That is fine, for now." He moves his hand over the notebook, so that it disappears. "Hold on to this." A blue key appears out of thin air and falls into Minato's hands. "'Til we meet again."_

_ Minato looks to Elizabeth, seeking out some kind of answer to all the questions running through his mind, but she just smiles and nods, and everything fades to black._

* * *

The next day, Minato is more tired than usual (he blames it on the strange dream he can barely remember), Junpei is too excited and too energized, and Ekoda-sensei is the biggest dick of a teacher he's ever had. He's stays up through the pointless lecture to make a good impression, but he can tell by the glare he shoots everyone that Ekoda-sensei is not impressed. At the end of the day, Minato declines to hang out with Junpei and Benjiro so that he can get an early start to his sleep.

"Lame," Junpei sighs when he explains why, then tries to replace him with Yoshioka, who passes by them.

"Can't," she chirps as she combs her fingers through her side ponytail. "Onahana-senpai is taking me out to eat at the new Chinese restaurant."

"Didn't you just get coffee with Kazahaya-senpai!?" Junpei asks, aghast. She waves him off, unimpressed with his argument already, and slips by them.

Minato accompanies them as far as Paulownia Mall, then waves goodbye when they decide they want to go to the arcade. The ride home is a blur, as is the pathetic 'hello' he offers to Yukari and Sakura when he wanders into the lobby. He murmurs something like, "Sleepy," as he heads up the stairs in a trancelike stupor, but his concern of how stupid he might look depletes as soon as his body hits the mattress.

He sleeps soundly all through the night, never stirring once, and not even getting up for dinner. Up in the control room, his dorm mates watch him with mild amusement on the monitor. "Wow, he can really sleep," Ryuu comments with a laugh. "Usually I roll around like crazy, especially if I fall asleep at four in the afternoon. I don't think he's moved once since we started watching him. I'm impressed."

"He hasn't even changed out of his uniform," Ami observes, lips twitching mirthfully.

"More importantly," Ikutsuki cuts in, chuckling, "he's the same as last night, which is interesting. Even those who have the potential tend to be unstable at first… Memory loss, disorientation… But, this subject is very unique. He hasn't exhibited any of the common symptoms."

Yukari frowns in disapproval. "We're treating him like a guinea pig."

"I understand your concern, but it's imperative that we recruit new members. I heard he's your classmate, aside from that… Wouldn't you be more comfortable working with another person from the same grade?" he asks.

"Yeah, I guess. But still…"

A beep sounds on the panel, drawing the attention away from the current conversation. "Command room," Mitsuru says, sitting forward. "Is that you, Akihiko?"

"You're not gonna believe this…!" he replies excitedly, voice warped slightly by the transceiver. "This thing is huge!" Sakura exchanges a short look of terror with Mitsuru at his exclamation. "Unfortunately, I don't have time to talk… It's chasing me." He pants heavily, like's he's running for his life. "I wanted to let you guys know. I'm almost there."

"_Here_?" Ryuu asks jumping out of his seat. "He's bringing it _here_?"

Completely calm, Mitsuru stands and address Ikutsuki, "Mr. Chairman! Let's suspend our observation for now. We'll prepare for battle!"

He swallows thickly as he backs away for the students. "R-right! Be careful!"

They rush past him, down the stairs, to the front door, which Akihiko is slumped against. His hand is pressed firmly against his side and he's wincing painfully. "I'm alright," he says quickly when he sees the shock and concern on their faces. "Get ready to be surprised… It'll be here any second."

"This is no time to joke around!" Mitsuru scolds as Ami moves to support him.

"Is it one of them?" Ami asks, trying to keep him up.

Akihiko bobs his head. "Yes, but not an ordinary one—"

The ground shakes violently as terrible scratching noises sound from outside. Mitsuru curses quietly under her breath as she withdraws her gun. "Takeba, go upstairs and wake up Arisato. Then escape out the back."

"But what about you guys?" Yukari asks, turning her gaze to her senpai and Ryuu.

"We'll stop it here," she says firmly, nodding to Ryuu and Ami. "You led it to us, Akihiko, so I'm afraid you'll have to fight as well."

Akihiko winces as he scoffs. "Like I had a choice! Hey, what are you waiting for, Yukari? Go!"

"I-I'm going," she snaps, glancing at them once before racing up the stairs. She tries to tune out Akihiko's shouting and Mitsuru's irateness as she runs, and only hopes that they'll be alright. Once in front of Minato's door, she pounds against it relentlessly. "Wake up! Sorry, I'm coming in!" She unlocks the door and pushes it, only to find the blue-haired male already out of bed. "I don't have time to explain," she says breathlessly, tugging on the sleeve of his uniform. "We have to get out of here, now!" He looks confused and she's sure he wants to ask questions, but she doesn't give him the chance to ask as she drags him along. "Hurry, we have to go downstairs. We'll leave through the back door!"

The ground shakes violently beneath them as they run down the stairs, back into the lobby which is now deserted. As soon as they approach the back door, Yukari's receiver crackles and Mitsuru can be heard: "Takeba, do you read me!?"

"Y-yes! I hear you!" she replies, looking around nervously.

"Be careful! There's more than one enemy! The one we're fighting isn't the one Akihiko saw!"

"What!?"

What sounds like claws scratch against the back door, causing Yukari to shriek and Minato to jump back. "What's that?" he asks, trying to sound as calm as possible, when she suddenly hands him a short sword. He looks at it questioningly; she shakes her head and notions for him to follow her back up the stairs.

"I can't explain now," she says, voice quivering. "We have to pull back." As they continue up and up, he can hear her muttering to herself, "What are we going to do…? They're downstairs! Do we have any choice…?" When they're on the fifth floor, she looks around with terror in her eyes. Relief floods through her when her gaze lands on the rooftop exit. "C'mon, this way!" He follows her through the doorway, so that both of them are now standing on the roof. "I think we're okay now," she says, sighing in relief.

Minato's heart continues to thud against his rib cage as he bends over to catch his breath. Just as his breathing returns to normal, the ground beneath them shakes again, and he swears he can hear something moving towards them. With reluctance, he and Yukari turn — and see inky black limbs climbing over the edge, onto the landing. First, all he can see are the legs and arms, which never seem to end in number, then the blades in its hands, and finally the blue mask it wears. "Those monsters," Yukari gasps as it slowly inches towards them, as though to attack, "we call them Shadows."

He watches helplessly as she pulls the gun from its holster around her thigh and puts it to her forehead. She hesitates, and for some reason Minato does nothing to stop her, before pulling the trigger. Instantly, green columns spring around the Shadow, but they prove to be ineffective as it strikes out. Yukari screams as the gun is knocked out of her hands and she is thrown to the ground from the impact. The gun spirals in the air and slows to a stop at Minato's feet.

_"Go on."_

Without realizing he's doing, Minato reaches down to pick up the gun. This is crazy, he thinks, as he lifts it to his temple. _This is absolutely crazy._ And he closes his eyes, pulls the trigger, and releases.

_"Persona."_

A wave of emotions surge through him as he feels something lift from his chest. His breath steals away as energy courses through his body, from the top of his head, down to his fingers and toes. An odd being appears above him, wielding a harp. "**Thou art I, and I am thou. From the sea of thy soul I cometh. I am Orpheus, master of strings.**" Suddenly, his head is wracked with pain, and Minato shouts as he clutches at his hair. At the same time, Orpheus convulses and squirms until he is ripped apart from the inside, so that a larger being bursts from within. It lets out a terrifying screech as it lunges at the attacking Shadow and cuts its mask with a single swipe of its blade. As the Shadow screams and tries to flee, the larger being pounces and tears it apart, limb from limb, until it's reduced to nothingness.

Minato is still on the ground, writhing from the effects of the headache, when the being raises into the air. He raises his eyes, sees it hovering in front of the full moon — and it reverts back to Orpheus. He stares deep into the eyes of his protector, who merely nods before disappearing; but Minato does not feel alone. Contrarily, he feels a flood of warmth rush through his body. He uses this strength to attack the smaller Shadows that have gathered on the rooftop, and manages to defeat them easily.

When he's done, he's breathing heavily and holding his throbbing forehead. "Hey, are you alright?" Yukari asks as she inches towards him. When he finally collapses from the exhaustion, she yells out and runs to his side. "Hey, come on! Say something!" Minato sees Mitsuru, Ami, and Ryuu running out, along with another unfamiliar boy. He nods, turns his eyes to Yukari's worried ones, and gives in to sleep once more.

* * *

Phil stands in the shadow of the Iwatodai dorm, a large frown marring his handsome face. "What now?" Kusanagi asks beside him, with a great deal of hesitance and worry. Phil grunts, obviously displeased, and shoves his hands into the pockets of his slacks as he walks off. Kusanagi shouts as he runs to catch up with the brunet. "Hey! Did you hear me? What do we do now? They just killed—"

"I know," he snaps irritably.

"Well, what the hell are we gonna do?"

"We'll have to act sooner than I initially thought," Phil replies, walking briskly. "Apparently their interference can't go ignored any longer. Call Kanzeon and the others; we need to meet tonight."

* * *

_He's here again _— _the Velvet Room. He's still as confused as ever, but seeing both Igor and Elizabeth gives him a sense of comfort, for some reason. "It's so nice to see you again," Igor greets with a grin. "You became unconscious after awakening to your 'power.' It's nothing to worry about, though. So, just relax." Easier said than done, Minato thinks grimly. "By the way… I see that it was Orpheus that heeded your calling. That power is called a Persona… It is a manifestation of your psyche."_

_ "Persona?" Minato breathes. Is that what that _thing_ was?_

_ "It may take some time to fully comprehend. A Persona is a facet of your personality that surfaces as you react to external stimuli… You can think of it as a mask that protects you as you brace many hardships. That being said, your power is still weak…"_

_ Even if he doesn't really understand what a Persona is, Minato can't help but feel slightly insulted._

_ Igor notices, because he chuckles. "When you use your Persona ability, you must channel your inner strength. The ability evolves as you develop your Social Links _— _your emotional ties with others. The stronger your Social Links, the more powerful your Persona ability. Please remember that. Now, then… Time marches on in your world. I shouldn't keep you here any longer. Next time we meet, you will come here of your own accord. Until then… Farewell."_

_ Minato doesn't get the chance to pose more questions (which he's sure would go unanswered anyway), because Igor is already waving him off and everything is already darkening. Again, he turns to Elizabeth, who smiles, and the door closes._

* * *

_Closing Song:_ "It's Time" - Imagine Dragons

* * *

This story is super duper fun to write which is why this is already out. XD Incorporating your characters into the story is really fun, even (or especially) because it's a bit of a challenge.

And now I need to study for my Developmental Psych class that I put off so I could write this. ; w;

New OCs that appeared in this chapter:  
Makiko Vinsonago (MewStar0013)  
Phil Luciano (Phil the Persona Guy)  
Sasaki Kusanagi (BladeOfTheEclipse)

_arrivederci, amore mio,  
_der kapitan


	4. tartarus

Author's Note:

Hallooo! Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter — your feedback and support mean the world to me. It's getting pretty late into the semester now, so I've been packed with tests and midterms and papers, so I'm using this (and my other stories) as a stress reliever. Hopefully you guys will enjoy it, too. :)

* * *

**L'Effet Papillon  
**"The Butterfly Effect"  
a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

Chapter Three  
Tartarus

_I will burn my dread  
__I once ran away from the god of fear  
__and he chained me to despair_

* * *

As the haziness begins to ebb away from his mind, so too does the exhaustion. Minato feels a heavy weight lift from his chest when he finally stirs to consciousness, and when he breathes he swears it's the freshest breath of air he's had in a long time. He lifts himself off the bed easily, feeling light and refreshed, when he realizes that he's not alone. "You're awake…!" Yukari gasps, sitting up straighter. "Um, how do you feel?"

"Good," he answers honestly, though the euphoria he experienced is now being replaced with confusion. "Where am I…?"

"Thank goodness," she mumbles, holding a hand over her heart. Minato gets the impression that she's talking more to herself than to him. "You finally came to… How much sleep do you need!? It's been a whole week! I… I was so worried about you." Her execution of concern seems to insult more than console, but Minato inwardly admits that he's touched; if she's been sitting at his bedside, she must be sincere. "Oh yeah, this is Tatsumi Memorial Hospital. It's just a short walk from the station."

Minato takes in his surroundings, noting the white walls and pristine furniture. Had he really been in this place for a week without waking up once? Granted, he's always been a heavy sleeper…

"The doctor couldn't find anything wrong with you," Yukari continues, sounding choked. "He said you were just exhausted… But, you kept sleeping and sleeping. You know how worried I was?" She must realize the hysterical tone she's taken on, because she quickly sits back in her seat and gives him a look of apology. "Um… I'm sorry I couldn't do anything… Even though I was supposed to protect you, I…" She rubs the back of neck in both embarrassment and shame. "But, _your_ power… It was amazing."

"What'd I even do?" he asks automatically. As relieved as he is to be alive, and as calm and content as he may feel, Minato doesn't understand. He recalls that night over and over again, replaying the events backwards and forwards, but he can't make sense of any of it. He dreams of a strange man with a large nose and a girl with eyes the color of the sun, but the man's answers only raise more questions.

Yukari senses his confusion, but she's unsure of how to explain it herself. "That power you used," she begins carefully, "we call it Persona. And those creatures you defeated are Shadows — our enemy." That explains absolutely nothing to him, and she knows, because she laughs apologetically. "We'll explain everything later. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before…" She lowers her eyes, and Minato knows she's struggling. "I, uh… I wanted to tell you that, well, I'm sorta like you."

He cocks his head to the side. "What do you mean?"

"My dad died in an accident when I was little," she explains. "And my mom and I aren't exactly on good terms. You're all alone too, right?" It sounds so cold when she says it like that. "To be honest, I already know about your past… But it didn't seem fair, so I wanted you to know about mine. It was back in '99; there was a big explosion in the area. Supposedly, my dad died in the blast, but nobody really knows what happened…" Yukari takes in a shaky breath before continuing. "He was working in a lab run by the Kirijo Group. So, I'm hoping that if I stick around long enough, I'll find out something. That's why I'm going to Gekkoukan High, and why I was there when this happened to you. … Of course, I panicked and wasn't much help…" He tries to give her an understanding smile, and she simpers in reply. "It was my first time fighting them, too. You wouldn't have to go through all this if I wasn't such a coward…"

"It's not your fault," he replies genuinely. "I was scared, too."

Her eyes widen in surprise. "Really? Well…"

"I had no idea what those things were. I was terrified." He still doesn't know what propelled him to pick up a gun and shoot himself (because, looking back on it now, that hardly seems like the logical thing to do when black blobs are attacking you), but he's grateful. Both he and Yukari are alive, and that's all that matters.

"Well, still…" She stands up, holding both hands behind her back. "And here I am telling you all this the minute you wake up. While I was waiting, I thought to myself, 'I've been hiding so many things form him… As soon as he wakes up, I'll tell him the truth.' So, thanks for listening. I've been wanting to share that story with someone for a long time."

He nods, because he understands. Though people always know his story, though his teachers read his file and the students already know before he meets them, he knows they don't really understand. Having people know second hand and telling someone yourself are completely different; by telling him this herself, Yukari is confiding a part of herself in him. Minato knows that their positions and experiences aren't completely the same, but part of him is almost honored that she's comfortable enough to tell him something so personal.

"Alright," Yukari says finally, "I'm gonna get going. I'll let the others know you woke up. Take it easy, okay? Be a good patient! And don't hesitate to call the nurse; I'm sure she'll take good care of you." She waves goodbye and slides open the door to leave, but before she can get far, she's nearly run over by a wheel chair. "Woah!" she yelps, jumping back to avoid a painful collision. "What the heck?"

"S-sorry," a young man apologizes after running up to Yukari, bowing deeply at the waist. "I lost control of it and it kinda just went racing down the hallway…" He's dressed in the Gekkoukan winter uniform, she notices, and has dark blue, almost black hair that reminds her of Minato's (it's a bit longer, though, hanging near his shoulders). "Are you alright?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine," she replies, blinking. "Hey, you go to Gekkoukan High, too, don't you? You're my senpai."

"Hm? Oh, yeah. You're… Yukari Takeba," he identifies after a moment of scrutinizing her. "You live in the same dorm as Mitsuru Kirijo."

For some reason, she looks uncomfortable when he mentions the red-haired female. "Y-yeah… Um, and you're Akio Kobayashi. You have a younger sister in my grade, I think, right?" Akio nods affirmatively. "So, what are you doing here, Senpai?"

"Eh?"

"The hospital," she elaborates. "Are you… injured?"

Realization clicks in his gray-blue eyes. "Oh! Oh, no, I'm perfectly fine, I'm sorry. I'm actually here for my sister — for her medications and all." Yukari thinks about asking what for, but it seems too intrusive, especially since she barely knows him and his sister. He sees the awkward pause on her face, and, wanting to save both of them an uncomfortable silence, he clears his throat. "Right, well, speaking of which, I should probably go. I can't keep Shiori waiting much longer. Take care, Yukari."

"Bye, Kobayashi-senpai." She watches him walk down the hallway and turn the corner, then glances over her shoulder through the small window of Minato's room. Yukari contemplates walking back in and apologizing again; she doesn't know what for, maybe for leaving him to fend for himself or being useless or throwing her burdens onto him after he woke up from a coma. She decides against it, though, telling herself that he needs his rest and he's probably already fast asleep again anyway. With a heavy sigh, she too leaves.

* * *

"Ikutsuki-san wants to talk to you today," Yukari tells him the next morning, followed by a quick apology. "Come to the fourth floor of the dorm after school, okay? Don't forget."

Minato hopes that this will bring him answers and he'll finally understand what's going on. It's difficult to concentrate for the rest of the day, and obviously the teachers can tell because they decide to be lenient with him: most of his homework isn't due for another two weeks and they don't call on him at all. Minato is absolutely guessing when he tells Junpei the answer to Ono-sensei's question (something about the Stone Age and cavemen), but fortunately for both of them, his guess is correct. At lunch, Junpei gives him a piece of his favorite candy bar in thanks.

"You really saved my ass back there," Junpei says, grinning gratefully. "I kept falling asleep during his lectures while you were gone, and if I got this one wrong, he definitely would have made me do lines…"

"Maybe you should stop falling asleep, then, hm, Junpei?" Yoshioka hums as she takes a seat between Minato and Benjiro. "Bye the way, it's nice to have you back again, cutie," she directs to Minato, who has yet to get used to her forward pet names. "Why were you out for so long?"

"Huh? Oh, I…" His glance shifts in Yukari's direction, though she isn't looking at him. He wonders if it would be bad to tell them the truth, then realizes that explaining how he went into a coma because he shot himself in the head really makes no sense anyway. "I got sick, I guess. The change in the environment was too much for my body. That's what the doctor told me, anyway." He shrugs to make it look more convincing.

"Bummer, friend," Benjiro sympathizes. "Is the atmosphere here and wherever you're from that big o' difference?"

"I was born here, actually," Minato explains, much to Benjiro and Yoshioka's shared surprise. "But because of the accident I had to move in with my aunt, who travels around a lot because of her job. The last place I lived in was Bangkok, though."

While Junpei and Benjiro look both envious and in awe, Yoshioka bobs her head in understanding. "Bangkok, huh? I've never been to Thailand before, but my dad's in the air force, so I had to move around a lot as a kid. I've lived in, let's see…" She begins to count off her fingers. "China, Germany, and California. I wasn't born here, though; I was born on the military base in Okinawa."

"Ah, I've lived in California and Germany, too."

She nudges him jokingly with her elbow and winks. "Well, look at that, why don't'cha? We've got a lot in common."

"Yeah, you've both traveled a lot and lived in like a million different places," Junpei snorts dismissively. "I guess normal guys like me and Benji don't have much to offer you worldly people."

"Hey, I'm from Georgia," Benjiro cuts in, looking offended.

Junpei deadpans. "Dude. You can't just say 'I'm from Georgia' after someone says they've been to California and Germany and China."

"Why's everyone so obsessed with California anyway?" he mumbles. "It ain't even as great as everyone makes it out to be…"

"Right, well, anyway," Yoshioka cuts in, "like I said, it's nice to have you back again. It's crazy, though, to transfer and get sick like that so quickly. Make sure you take care of yourself, cutie. Auntie won't be here every day to make sure that you're taking your vitamins and closing the windows at night."

Minato wants to tell her that his auntie probably wouldn't be able to fight off vicious black blobs wielding knives, but figures he really doesn't need a rumor going around about his lack of sanity. Instead, he just thanks her, and the four of them carry on with lunch until it's time for class again. When the school day ends, he says goodbye to Junpei and Benjiro, and Yoshioka who apparently has another date with Onahana-senpai (they've spent every day after school together for the past week, Junpei tells him). Remembering Yukari's words from earlier, he heads back to the dorm quickly and ascends the stairs up to the fourth floor.

"Oh!" says Yukari when she sees him. "There you are. C'mon, they're waiting for us." They both enter the control room, where Mitsuru, Ami, Ryuu, Ikutsuki, and an unfamiliar face are already seated inside. Minato's eyes immediately dart to the briefcase sitting on the table they're surrounding.

"Ah, hello," Ikutsuki greets, standing up to shake Minato's hands, like he's some kind of hero. "I'm glad that you're okay. The reason I asked you here is because I needed to talk to you. Please, have a seat." Minato looks to Yukari for some kind of affirmation. When she nods, he takes a seat beside her, also next to Ryuu. "Oh, before that." He chuckles like he's made a minor mistake. "I believe I mentioned him earlier, but this is Akihiko." He gestures to the unfamiliar silver-haired boy sitting in the chair, who raises a hand in greeting.

"Hey," Akihiko speaks up. "How ya doin'?"

Ikutsuki clears his throat. "Okay," he begins, a bit unsurely, "let me start off by asking you this… Would you believe me if I said that a day consists of more than 24 hours?"

"No," is Minato's automatic answer, because it seems so simple.

Mitsuru chuckles. "I'm not surprised you'd answer so quickly, especially considering the nature of the question. However, you've already experienced this truth firsthand." He recalls yellow moons and pools of blood and standing coffins, and suddenly what they're saying doesn't seem so bizarre anymore. "Do you remember the night you came here? You had to have noticed the signs… The streetlights went out… Nothing was working… There were coffins everywhere… Didn't it feel like you were in a different time?" He's never thought of it that way, that strange phenomenon he's always experienced. Maybe it's because, to him, it's always been normal, so he's never tried to figure it out or define it.

"That's the Dark Hour," Ami elaborates. "It's a, um… I don't really know how to explain it... A time period, I guess you could say, that's hidden between one day and the next."

"Right," he replies slowly, in a way that heavily suggests he still doesn't understand.

"It occurs every night at midnight," she continues, trying to explain it simply. "People aren't aware of it, but it exists, obviously. It sounds really weird and totally unbelievable, but it'll even happen tonight, and every night after."

"Normal people don't realize it," says Akihiko, "since they're all sleeping inside their coffins." So there are people in those coffins, Minato thinks with a mixture of amusement and slight disgust. "But, that's not what makes the Dark Hour so interesting. … You saw those creatures." Suddenly, his upperclassman is smirking, like he's about ready to jump into a winning fight. "We call them Shadows. They only appear during the Dark Hour, and attack anyone not in a coffin. It's our job to defeat them. Sounds exciting, huh?"

"Akihiko!" Mitsuru hisses, sending him a look so sharp that he flinches. "Why are you always like that? You just got hurt the other day!"

"He means well, Mitsuru-senpai," Ryuu cuts in, defending him. "It's important to have someone passionate about fighting Shadows, since they just keep coming."

"So passionate and so blinded that he knocks himself out of fighting?" Neither Ryuu nor Akihiko can rebuke that point.

Ikutsuki shakes his head at the disagreement between the dorm residents. "Now, now… Long story short, we're the Special Extracurricular Execution Squad — SEES for short. On paper, we're classified as a school club. But in reality, this group is dedicated to defeating the Shadows. Mitsuru is the leader. I'm the club advisor." It's weird, Minato thinks, how cavalier this guy sounds in everything he's saying. His explanations sound like a good plot for a sci-fi movie, not an after school club for high school students.

"A Shadow feeds on the mind of its prey; the victim becomes a living corpse." Mitsuru's words are very grave, so the fact that they're being attributed to an "extracurricular execution squad" makes them sound terribly silly. "They're responsible for most of the incidents on the news, if not all of them."

"How do you fight them?" Minato asks.

"There are some people who can function during the Dark Hour," Ryuu answers. "You, obviously, are one of them, and so are we. We're a bit more… special, though." He grins sheepishly, like he's embarrassed to say such a thing. "Some, like us, can awaken to a power that enables them to fight the Shadows. That's Persona — the power that you used the other night. The Shadows can only be defeated by Persona-users, which, ultimately, means that it's all up to us. … No pressure, right?"

"I… see," he replies, even if he isn't completely convinced.

"I'm glad you're quick to understand," Ikutsuki says, then turns to Mitsuru.

The redhead nods, then stands up so that she can open the briefcase on the table. When she undoes the latches, the top pops up, and inside is a gun that looks like Yukari's, next to a red armband. "What he's trying to say," Mitsuru explains, "is that we want you to join us. We've prepared an Evoker for you." Evoker, he thinks, how fancy. "We'd like you to lend us your strength."

All eyes are on him now, expectantly waiting his reply. He's not sure if he wants to say yes at all; he's just arrived at Tatsumi Port Island, he's trying to settle in, he's trying to create a home for himself. He still doesn't understand the Dark Hour or Shadows or Persona, and he's not sure how keen he is on the idea of a bunch of high school students running around shooting themselves with "Evokers." At the same time, though, Minato's not sure if he really _wants_ to be a normal high school student, whatever that may entail. He's become so used to the supernatural and the paranormal that something as strange as an extra hour shouldn't bother him.

And, honestly, he has to admit there's something incredible in having people looking up to him.

"Alright," he says finally.

Yukari sighs in relief, while Ryuu whoops loudly. "I was afraid you'd say no," she says honestly. "Welcome aboard!"

"Thank you so much," says Ikutsuki with a smile. "I'm really glad. Oh, I almost forgot… About your room assignment… Why don't you just stay here, in your current room? I don't know what the holdup is, but I guess it worked out in the end." He chuckles in amusement, but Yukari just rolls her eyes and Akihiko tries his best not to grimace. Minato tries not to appear too upset because he purposefully put off unpacking because he thought he'd have to be moving soon. On the other hand, though, he admits that this place already feels like a home, even if he doesn't really have experience with what a "real" home feels like.

Ami places a hand on his shoulder and offers him a warm smile. "It's good to have you with us, Senpai!"

The sound of shattering glass pierces through his mind, but he doesn't feel pain — instead, a cool feeling of peace rushes through his body. A mysterious voice rings in his head as the image of a playing card flashes behind his eyes. _Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a Persona of the Fool Arcana…_ The ringing in his ears slowly disappears until the buzz is gone, and he realizes that he's in a room full of chattering people. _"What was that?"_ he wonders, suddenly feeling a strong connection to the people around him.

"You should get some rest," Mitsuru advises, snapping him out of his reverie. "It's been a long night full of a lot information. I'm sure you're tired."

Even if his mind feels incredibly at rest, Minato does acknowledge the heaviness of his shoulders and legs. He nods and stands up, bids goodnight to everyone, who are still engrossed in conversation, and drags himself down to his room. When he sleeps, he dreams of strange boys in striped pajamas talking about the end and salvation and commitments.

* * *

The next night, Ryuu and Ami offer to help him finally unpack and settle into his room. It's a nice gesture, he thinks, even though he doesn't have much; Minato's so used to moving around that he's never really _had_ to settle into a room before. "You don't have very many decorations," Ryuu comments as Minato begins to put his folded clothes away in his dresser. "The walls look a little bare." Ryuu's room is covered in posters from ceiling to floor, with the majority of them being from video games, though some star music groups.

"I'm sure Minato-senpai didn't really have the room to carry very many decorations," Ami says reasonably. "It's understandable."

Ryuu thinks about her logic, then shrugs. "Well, still. If you want some help decorating, just let me know, Minato-kun. I know some great stores around the city that sell posters and magazines and stuff for super cheap."

Minato smiles appreciatively. "Thanks." In the short moment of silence that follows, he swears he can hear something — it sounds like someone calling his name downstairs. "Is that Yukari?"

Ryuu sighs as he hops off Minato's bed. "She's got some lungs on her. C'mon, we shouldn't keep the princess waiting." Out of the corner of his eye, Minato can see a small smirk tugging at Sakura's lips.

The three of them make their way downstairs, where Yukari and Akihiko are conversing quietly in front of the door. "Oh, there you are," Yukari announces, and is surprised to see that Ryuu and Ami are with him. "Were all of you just together?"

"We were helping him unpack," Ami answers. "So, what's up, Akihiko-senpai?"

"There's someone I want to introduce to you guys." He turns his head to the door. "Hey, hurry up."

"Hold your horses," groans a voice from outside. "This is freakin' heavy."

Yukari's brown eyes widen to the size of saucers when Junpei enters, dragging a number of suitcases with him. "J-Junpei!? … Why is _he_ here?" She turns to Akihiko for answers, then to Ami, who shrugs. "Wait, don't tell me—"

"This is Junpei Iori, which I'm assuming you all know," Akihiko says, "from Class 2-F, which I'm also assuming you know since he's in your class." Ryuu lowers his head, a bit disgruntled since he's the only one in a different class. "He'll be staying here as of today, which means—"

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Yukari throws her arms up in the air in exasperation, which causes Junpei's grin to widen even further. "He's staying _here_? Does that mean he has the potential?"

"I bumped into him the other night," Akihiko says. "He has the potential, but he just awakened to it recently… I told him about us, and he agreed to help."

Junpei rubs the back of his neck sheepishly at the introduction. "He found me cryin' like a baby at the convenience store," ("That I can believe," Yukari mumbles), "surrounded by a bunch of coffins. I don't remember much, but… man, that's embarrassing! He said that's, ya know, completely normal… in the beginning. Like, bein' confused and not remembering anything. Did ya guys know that?"

Minato realizes that the question is mostly being directed at him, and nods quickly. "Yeah."

"Oh," he replies, a bit stunned, "that's good. You should, since you're a Persona-user. But man, I was shocked to find out about you guys. I had no idea. I'm glad I'm not the only one. It could get kinda lonely, ya know. I bet you're stoked, too, right!? Havin' me join and all…" He nudges Minato with his elbow, and Minato chuckles a bit because he _does_ know what it's like to be lonely and how nice it is to have friends around. Yukari, on the other hand, looks like she wants to crawl under a bed until someone tells her the nightmare's over.

"Wow, we've got another second year with us," Ryuu says, excitement written on his face. "We've been multiplying so quickly these days — it's hard to believe there are so many of us. Oh, by the way, I'm Ryuu Murakumo." He and Junpei shake hands cordially. "I'm a second year, too, but I'm in 2-E."

"Cool!"

"And I'm Ami Sumeragi, your underclassman. Please take care of me, Senpai!" Junpei is so stunned to be addressed by the cheerful and upbeat female that he doesn't even shake her outstretched hand. Feeling awkward, she pulls it back and coughs into it. "Right, well… Nice to meet you! Akihiko-senpai, you were mentioning something earlier." She connects gazes with Akihiko, and he nods as he smirks.

Junpei shakes off the starstruck glimmer in his eyes. "Ooh, we're gonna go do something? Sweetness!"

"With so many people, we can start exploring that place," Akihiko says.

Yukari, as opposed to Junpei, appears apprehensive. "You mean… Tartarus?"

Confusion sprawls across Junpei and Minato's faces. "Tartarus…? What's that?" Junpei asks, looking at Minato the same way he does during Toriumi-sensei's lectures. When Minato shrugs cluelessly, Junpei sighs. "… Sounds like toothpaste."

"We believe we can find the reason for the Dark Hour there," Akihiko says, ignoring his comment.

Yukari nods grimly. "I hope so…"

"The Chairman will give us the details tomorrow night, so be ready."

* * *

At the end of the next school day, Minato decides two things are for certain: 1) School assembles are stupid and a complete waste of time and 2) Yukari definitely has something against Mitsuru-senpai. When Junpei looks just as confused as he does about the second topic, he mentions it to Yoshioka, who gets very excited for some reason. "I hear things between them have always been tense," she says knowingly. "Well, for as long as Yukari-chan's been here, anyway. Her father worked for Kirijo-senpai's father's business, you know, and well, with what happened to him…"

"Right," Minato says, spotting her reluctance, "she told me."

Yoshioka perks up immediately. "So rumor has it that the dislike stems from there. I think it's pretty one-sided, though. Yukari-chan's the only one that shows outright discomfort around Kirijo-senpai. Granted, Kirijo-senpai is just so elegant and regal… She could just be jealous… But that'd be silly, because Yukari-chan's pretty popular on her own, and a bit more approachable."

"You think so?"

She blinks at him like he's stupid. "Uh, yes. I know half the guys in this school would rather be shot down by Yukari-chan in public than have confront Kirijo-senpai in private. She's very intimidating. Then again, you haven't been here for very long, cutie, so I guess it makes sense you don't know."

Minato has to ask, "Is that my nickname?"

"What, 'cutie'?" She smiles mirthfully as she pats him on the head like a dog. "I wish I could say it was especially yours, but don't worry — I reserve it for people I really like." Yoshioka winks at him, then dismisses herself because she has another date with Onahana-senpai.

"They're getting pretty serious," he remarks as he, Benjiro, and Junpei head to their shoe lockers.

"A week is like six months for Yoshi," Benjiro comments. They take a seat on the nearby bench so that they can exchange their indoor shoes for their outdoor ones. "But it probably ain't gonna last longer, to be honest." Minato cocks his head to the side curiously, surprised that Benjiro would say something so harsh since it seemed like he and Yoshioka are pretty close. "Oh, no, I ain't tryin' to be mean. Yoshi's a great gal, but relationships just aren't really her thing. C'mon, even Junpei'll tell you that."

"What do you mean by 'even'?" Junpei rebukes.

"You know what I mean."

They three stand up to leave through the front doors. Minato feels a soft breeze, but there's a hint of warmth and summer in the air that fills his lungs and brings a soft smile to his face. The end of April is coming soon.

"… hates attachment. It's kinda unhealthy, but we're just teenagers, I guess, so it doesn't really matter." Minato zooms back in at the end of Junpei's commentary on the matter at hand, which apparently is still Yoshioka Itou. "I asked her about it once, but she didn't get offended or anything. She just told me I was still immature, which kinda pissed me off—"

"But she wasn't off mark?" Benjiro offers, grinning.

"Ah, shut the hell up."

Minato and Junpei say goodbye to Benjiro when they have to board the train for the dorm. Benjiro thinks it's a bit strange that Junpei moved into the dorm, especially at such a strange time during the year and so suddenly, but he doesn't question it much. He probably just thinks that it's normal in Japan, which is a relief to both Minato and Junpei because they don't even know how they would begin to explain it to him. "Didn't your parents ask why you had to move into the dorm?" Minato asks when the curiosity gets the better of him.

Junpei tries to shrug as nonchalantly as possible (which gives away his discomfort immediately, though that might just be because Minato's a good read of character). "Nah. Didn't care much." He turns his attention out the window, then quickly changes the subject, and Minato knows better to pry where he's not wanted. He does feel bad, though, because he catches the sad look in Junpei's eyes, and it's the kind of sadness that no one should experience. Junpei always seems like such a happy guy, too, but, Minato has to remind himself, many things are not actually what they appear to be.

* * *

When she hears Shiori coughing, Kanzeon quickly runs to the shorter girl's assistance. The dark-haired female gives her a very poignant look, though, and Kanzeon inwardly breathes a small sigh of relief. "I'm fine," Shiori says plainly, closing the book sitting on her lap. "I just have a cold is all." Instead of calming her, Kanzeon looks even more worried than before, an observation that Shiori makes with pursed lips. "Honestly, I'm _fine_. I had my medication earlier. It's just a cough, really. I'm alright."

"The more you insist, the more worried I am," Kanzeon replies. "Are you sure you don't want to go home?"

"Yes," she says firmly. "I'm fine."

"As I said, it's a bit difficult to believe."

She knows that Kanzeon has good intentions, but Shiori can't help but scowl. No one enjoys being babied, and she receives a good amount of it on a daily basis. Had it not been for Phil's involvement, Akio probably would have kept her from coming tonight, which is ridiculous because she's just as useful as anyone else on the team. "At any rate, I doubt we're going to run into any problems tonight," Shiori comments, trying to turn the conversation away from herself. "It's been pretty calm as of late. Well, save for that night a week ago."

Kanzeon runs her fingers through her shoulder-length hair as she leans against the brick wall of the building. In the moonlight, Shiori can make out the gold hoop earrings in her eyebrows and left nostril. "We're all a bit surprised at the lack of activity. Personally, I was expecting them to travel to Tartarus as soon as they killed that Shadow. We've been here every night since then, though, and no one has showed up." Out of reflex, her eyes dart to the school gate which, sure enough, is unmoved and untouched. "This could just be a waste of time."

"Well, there isn't much else for me to do," she replies airily as she smoothes out her skirt.

"Hm."

"What a lovely night, eh, ladies?" Even if they recognize the voice immediately, Kanzeon stands at attention and Shiori jumps to her feet. Phil chuckles in amusement when Shiori's book topples to the ground and she flushes in response. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you." Like a gentleman, he bends down to pick it up, brushes some dirt off the spine, and hands it to her; she takes it with a mumbled thank you. "We just finished doing our rounds. Where's Akio?"

"Still out," Shiori replies as she tucks her book away into her bag. "He told me he was gonna go through the mall a couple times, just to make sure."

"Diligent as always. And how have things been here?"

"The same as it's been for the past week," Kanzeon answers.

Sasaki scowls as he folds his arms across his chest. "We've been doing this for nothing, then. We're wasting time, Luciano."

Phil raises a gloved finger to his lips to silence the shorter male, who growls threateningly, but a sharp look from Phil has him just seething silently. By straining their ears, they can hear footsteps in the distance, near the school gate. Instinctively, all of them move into the shadow cast by the school, so that they can't be seen. "This is it?" yelps a boisterous voice. (Shiori twitches a bit; she recognizes the voice instantly.) "Why _here_?"

"Just wait a few minutes," a deep voice sighs, laced with mild irritation. "It's almost midnight."

Phil looks down at his wristwatch, and once the final seconds begin ticking away, he quietly counts out loud. Kanzeon holds her breath when both hands join at the twelve. As if on cue, the school begins to collapse on itself before large extensions jut out of it violently and irregularly, building upward and upward until it's touching the sky. She's no longer staring at Gekkoukan High School when the transformation ends — instead, her eyes are glued to an impossibly-constructed tower made of stairs that go no where and endlessly ticking clocks with no numbers. In the pit of her stomach, she feels disgust.

"This is Tartarus," says a feminine voice, who everyone quickly identifies as Mitsuru Kirijo, "the labyrinth that reveals itself during the Dark Hour."

"Labyrinth…?" questions the boisterous male. "What are you talking about!? What happened to our school!?"

"Once the Dark Hour passes, everything returns to normal."

"This is the 'nest' you were talking about!? But, why!? Why'd our school turn into a giant tower!?" Silence. "… You don't know, either?"

"… No."

"I'm sure it's complicated," says another female. "Who cares anyway? It's not like it would change our minds about fighting."

"Well, maybe we'll find out now," the second male says. "Mitsuru and I have only gone in to take a peek; this will be our first time exploring it. Exciting, isn't it?" His voice hitches, like he'd about to dive into a new adventure. "There has to be some sort of clue in here about the Dark Hour…"

"Akihiko," Mitsuru begins firmly, "I respect your enthusiasm, but you won't be accompanying us today."

He groans. "I know… You don't have to remind me."

The footsteps carry away with light chattering and uneasy laughter, until they all disappear into the tower. As soon as he's sure they're gone, Phil steps forward. "Well, it looks like we aren't wasting too much time, are we, Kusanagi?" He smirks in the direction of his partner, who merely rolls his eyes. "On another cheerful note, it would probably be wise to enter into the tower at some point time, preferably soon. I'm a little miffed, since we won't be the first ones, but I can't allow my being a sore loser to interfere with the task at hand."

"We already basically failed, though, didn't we?" Sasaki asks. "They killed that Shadow."

"The tower still exists, as does the Dark Hour," Phil says calmly. "Remember, they need to reunite all twelve. That was only one. It's one more than we were expecting, but…" He sighs and tries to flatten his dark brown hair as he thinks. "When did this job get so difficult?" He spares another glance at his watch. "At any rate, there isn't much we can do now. We'll have to organize an investigation of the tower soon, but until then… I don't want to be here when the Dark Hour ends." They all quietly agree, and disappear into the darkness.

* * *

Minato is relieved to see that he's not the only one exhausted at the end of the excursion: Yukari is out of breath, Junpei's sitting on the stairs with his head between his legs, and Ryuu looks a little wobbly on his feet. Mitsuru smiles sympathetically, Ami offers all of them some medicine, and Akihiko eyes them with poorly disguised longing. "Welcome back," the redhead greets kindly. "So, how was it?" The question is just a matter of being polite, because Minato's sure it's rather obvious how it went considering what they look like.

"I'm exhausted," he replies earnestly.

She chuckles. "It must've hit you all at once. Don't worry, you'll get used to it."

"I feel like it's just gonna get harder before it gets any easier, though," Ryuu mumbles, running a hand over his face.

"Who knew, though," Junpei breathes, "that we had that kind of power! We kicked some ass…!" He leans back on the stairs behind him, wearing a tired grin. "I'm totally beat, though."

"That's 'cause you were bouncin' around like a little kid," Yukari says, with no real malice.

"You look pretty tired yourself, Yuka-tan."

"Eh-heh, I'm still trying to catch my breath, actually…"

"That's the effect of the Dark hour," Mitsuru says. "You'll become fatigued more easily. Don't worry, though, you'll adapt. But really, I'm quite surprised… You all did much better than I expected."

"Well, I'm super impressed," Ami compliments, agreeing with her upperclassman. "Hey, Akihiko-senpai, at this rate, they'll catch up to you in no time."

She grins at him teasingly, and though he rolls his eyes, the cheerfulness and excitement on his face can't be missed. "Heh, we'll see about that."

Minato hears it again all of a sudden — the shattering glass and the soothing voice. And again he feels that strange refreshing sensation as he stands among this group of people, who are laughing and talking excitedly despite having spent the past hour fighting monsters shaped like black ink blots. Even with his exhaustion, he feels stronger, and it's in that moment that he remembers Igor's words: _"… The ability evolves as you develop your Social Links_ — _your emotional ties with others. The stronger your Social Links, the more powerful your Persona ability."_ Literally, then, this is the power of friendship. Minato almost wants to laugh at how cliché it sounds.

"We should go soon," Ami suggests. They all nod in agreement, the underclassmen more enthusiastically than the others.

The Dark Hour will soon be over.

* * *

_Closing Song:_ "It's Time" - Imagine Dragons

* * *

I wrote like half of this in three hours because I'm sitting in an airport and my plane doesn't leave for another… eight hours. This is what I get for not planning my Fall Break more thoroughly. *sighs* Also, I am super exhausted 'cause I only got three hours of sleep and I'm hungry but airport food is expensive and my life sucks. (I'm just kidding it really doesn't but I'm tired as hell.)

At any rate, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and that the length made up for my absence. The past couple of weeks have been so busy, with retreats and mid-terms and papers, and I'm so glad I can finally relax.

Also, I will be diverting from the canon script a bit more, since the main points have been established. If you have any requests for character scenes/interactions, throw 'em my way and I'll see what I can do! :)

**Social Links:  
**Fool: Level 2 (+2)

**New OCs that appeared in this chapter:  
**Akio Kobayashi (Happy-the-Nekomander)  
Shiori Kobayashi (Happy-the-Nekomander)  
Kanzeon Shinko (a-Goto)

_arrivederci, amore mio,  
_der kapitan


	5. threads of friendship

Author's Note:

I'm mildly terrified because it's almost November (as I write this author's note) which means that most of my major tests and papers are happening soon. Also NaNoWriMo, which means I probably will not update this again until December (and mid-December at that, because I have finals at the beginning). All the same, I always appreciate your support and reviews; they truly mean the world to me.

* * *

**L'Effet Papillon  
**"The Butterfly Effect"  
a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

Chapter Four  
Threads of Friendship

_I will burn my dread  
__I once ran away from the god of fear  
__and he chained me to despair_

* * *

The next day is fairly busy, filled with meeting new people (whose names he can't really remember), extravagant speeches (many of which through which he slept), and long lectures. When he's finished, Minato is more than ready to retire and maybe spend the rest of the day in bed. "Dude, you're gonna just go to sleep until tomorrow?" Junpei asks, jaw hanging in disbelief. "How can you even sleep that much and still properly function? That's like… fourteen hours of sleep!"

"I gotta agree, that's pretty incredible," Benjiro laughs. "I mean, I love me my sleep, but anymore'n' eight, and I'll be exhausted for the rest o' the day. Though… That might explain why you're always lookin' so lethargic, friend." Minato's sure Benjiro doesn't mean it as an insult (and honestly, it's probably a fact), so he just shrugs. "You should look at gettin' involved in some clubs. They keep ya busy and they're pretty fun 'cause ya get to meet people."

"That's right," Minato says, "you're on the track team."

"Heck yeah, I am! Junpei's too 'cool' for clubs, but they're really great." Benjiro teasingly nudges Junpei with his elbow, but the latter slaps it away with a grunt. "You came it kinda late, though, so I'm not sure which ones are still open… Keep an eye out for announcements, though. You gotta hop on 'em quick."

As the three of them leave the school building and stand near the front gate, they hear an incessant amount of giggling and shrill laughing. They all turn back to the entrance, where Akihiko has just exited. Like a swarm of bees, a group of girls flank him, surrounding him almost completely. "Look, it's Akihiko-senpai!" one girl squeals, despite the fact that there's literally three inches between him and her. "S-senpai, what are you doing right now?"

"Have you ever noticed how popular Akihiko-san is with the ladies?" Junpei asks quietly. "Man, take a look at that… I didn't use to talk to him much, but now I've got a good excuse. I know he's the captain of the boxing team, but… Who would thought he'd be such a chick magnet? I mean, come on! You don't even see girls flock like that on TV! I wonder where they're going…"

Minato notices that Junpei's watching their silver-haired senpai with great envy, and Benjiro chuckles. "It's 'cause he's on the boxing team, y'know. I'm tellin' ya — clubs are the way to the ladies' hearts."

"Dude, shut up."

Akihiko's eyes wander around until they settle on the group by the gate. He quickly shuffles towards them; like an accessory, the girls follow. "Hey," he says, as calmly as he can to Minato and Junpei, "are you guys free this afternoon?"

Minato's, "I was gonna sleep," is drowned out by Junpei's excited, "Hell yeah!" The capped teen isn't looking at Akihiko at all; his gaze is focused entirely on the group of pretty girls. "Whatcha got in mind!?"

"I want the two of you to meet me at Paulownia Mall. You know where it is, right? I'll be at the police station. See ya there."

The spark in Junpei's eye disappears quickly when he gapes at Akihiko. "Th-the police station? You mean we're not hangin' out with your friends…?" He glances mournfully at the girls, who shoot glares at him in return.

"Who, these girls?" Akihiko barely looks at them over his shoulder. "Who, these girls? I don't even know their names. They talk so much they give me a headache. Anyway, I'm gonna head out. … Don't keep me waiting."

One girl pouts. "Aww… Why can't he be more friendly?"

Her friend lightly hits her arm. "But that's what makes him so cool!" And just like that, her friends laugh and giggle and run after their beloved Akihiko-senpai.

"He's an idiot," Junpei decides after a moment of silence.

"Well, don't let it ruin your day." Benjiro pats him on the back, though it does nothing to restore Junpei's foul mood. "Anyway, that invitation was only extended to the two o' you, so I better get goin'. I'll see ya tomorrow." He waves goodbye, then walks off, leaving them alone.

Minato turns to Junpei, who looks like he wants to follow Benjiro now that the prospect of girls has gone out the window. "Should we go?" Minato asks, afraid of upsetting Akihiko.

Junpei actually contemplates ditching, but gives in with a groan. "Yeah, alright."

The trip isn't completely fruitless, no matter how much Junpei whines and groans about it. Both of them get 5000 yen from Akihiko (and, Minato figures, who is he to reject free money?), meet a police officer (he wonders if this means the law will be lenient with him if he ever gets in trouble), and buy new weapons. Minato himself picks out a nicer version of the one-handed sword Yukari had given him the other night and Junpei grabs a heavy two-handed sword. Junpei dismisses himself almost immediately after their done shopping, and Minato has half the heart to head back to the dorm now that he's free. When he sees Makiko, still dressed in her pink-haired cat costume and standing in front of Otaku's Paradise, though, something urges him to visit her.

"Good afternoon, Stranger-kun," she says, beaming at him. "How nice of you to visit me again, so soon!"

"Stranger-kun?" he asks, raising an eyebrow.

"I never actually learned your name," she admits, laughing softly.

"Minato Arisato."

"Ah, Minato-kun, then. How have you been? I hear Junpei-kun is living with you now! That must be really great, living with friends and whatnot. I think Junpei-kun's always wanted to live in the dorms, anyway."

"Yeah?" he asks.

"Oh, definitely. Doesn't Junpei-kun seem like the kind of person who needs to be around people all the time?" Minato thinks about it, and it certainly does make sense. He couldn't imagine Junpei living on his own, or just with his parents. He's pretty sure that he's an only child, so home life must be pretty lonely and quiet; honestly, though, Minato doesn't know much about Junpei's background. "Living in a dorm will be really good for him. Junpei-kun is a very good friend of mine, so I want to see him happy. In the past couple of days, he really looks like he's brightened up."

This sounds a little bizarre to Minato, probably because they've spent the last couple of days talking about Shadows and running around the school at night. Junpei was pretty excitable the night before, though; it took Minato and Yukari a while to track Junpei down after they had split up the first time. "Yeah, I guess…" Junpei was the only one who volunteered to lead the expedition, and even after he was denied (and had glare daggers into Minato's head) he ran around like a mercenary on a mission. Benjiro had said that Junpei wasn't involved in any clubs, so maybe this whole Shadow-hunting business finally gave him something to be passionate about. It's a bit weird, and definitely not Minato's choice of hobby, but to each his own.

"Well, I should probably get to work," Makiko sighs. "We should spend more time together if we can, though, Minato-kun. I'd really like to get to know you better."

He smiles. "Yeah, definitely. Take care, Makiko."

Minato leaves the strangely-dressed girl to return to the dorm, where Mitsuru is waiting for him on the couch. She puts down her book when he walks in, offers one of her tight-lipped smiles. "Welcome back. Perfect timing… I'd like to speak to you for a moment. Regarding our exploration of Tartarus… Akihiko is still on the mend, so for now, I'd like you to lead the team. You never know when a powerful enemy might appear, like the one you faced the other day. It's best to be prepared, or else you may find yourself in a difficult situation. So, whenever you'd like to explore Tartarus, just let me know, and I'll gather everyone there. Also, since I'm sure there are other things you will need to take care of, you may go out at night if you need to." She pauses, to see if he's registered everything, the concludes with, "Well, that's it. Keep up the good work." With that, she picks up her book and resumes reading.

Having abandoned his plan for an early nap a while ago, Minato contemplates going out. He hasn't really gotten the chance to explore Paulownia Mall or the rest of the city on his own yet, and he wonders if the night life is anything like Bangkok's. Just as he heads out, a delicious smell wafts through the living room and enraptures him. His feet take him in the direction of the smell, putting him in the kitchen at the back. "Smells good," he murmurs, unaware of the fact that he isn't alone.

"Oh, hey, Minato-kun," Yukari greets, noticing him first. "Joining us for dinner?"

He snaps out of his reverie and blinks at the small group of people staring back at him. Along with Yukari, Junpei and Ryuu are seated at the table. Ami, with her hair pushed back by a yellow headband and light pink apron tied around her waist, runs back and forth in front of the stove, stirring and adding spices to the lovely concoction that's seduced Minato. "Yeah, sure," he says, slipping into the chair next to Ryuu and across from Yukari. "What are we having?" He tries to crane his neck to get a look at what's being made.

She shrugs. "I'm not sure. It's a surprise, I guess." Yukari shifts in her seat so that she's angled towards the younger girl. "But Ami's a great cook, so I'm sure you guys won't be disappointed," Yukari says, moving again so that she's more comfortably seated.

"I'm excited," Junpei groans as he holds his hands over his loudly grumbling stomach. "I didn't have anything for lunch and I'm starving. I could eat a cow."

"You shouldn't skip meals," Ami says sternly.

"Then _you_ give me money for lunch." When she gives him a stern look, he winces and quickly retracts the statement. "All I'm sayin' is that I'm excited to eat, alright? And it smells like a little slice of heaven, so I can tell this is gonna be good. Bring on the food, Ami-tan!"

The serious expression on her face is quickly replaced with a bright grin. "It'll be done soon, I promise!"

"So," Ryuu begins, looking at Minato, "how was your day?"

"Long," he answers.

"I heard Akihiko-senpai took you and Junpei to meet Officer Kurosawa," says Yukari. When Junpei groans at the memory, she quirks an eyebrow questioningly. "He is kinda scary, but I didn't think he was that bad. Actually, he looks pretty nice and dependable."

"I thought you were angry because Akihiko-senpai only gave you five thousand yen," Ryuu says.

Junpei unsuccessfully tries to hush up Ryuu, who doesn't realize he's crucified Junpei until it's too late, and Yukari scowls disapprovingly at him (more than usual). "You got upset because he didn't give you a million yen to spend on weapons? Honestly, Stupei, I knew you were vain, but not this much." He opens his mouth to protest, but one look at the sour look on her face has him hanging his head in defeat.

"It's important to keep your weapon up to date," Ami directs to Minato. "Using it in Tartarus will dull the blade and weaken it. Officer Kurosawa gets upgrades every now and then, and even though they can be expensive, he only sells quality weapons."

"What's your weapon?" Minato asks out of curiosity.

Ami smiles, though light pink dusts her cheeks. "A shotgun. I'm pretty small, so I can't handle the bigger weapons."

"And what about Mitsuru-senpai and Ahikiko-senpai?" He's already seen his fellow underclassmen's weapons because of their excursion into Tartarus the night before. Yukari wields a longbow, Junpei uses a large two-handed sword, and Ryuu has a katana and a hidden blade attached to his left wrist. They've got quite a number of blades on the team, he realizes.

"Akihiko-senpai just uses his fists, because he's a boxer," Yukari says. "He uses gloves, though, so the impact isn't too hard on his hands. And Mitsuru-senpai uses one-handed swords like rapiers and sabers. She's big into fencing."

Before they can continue the conversation, Ami chimes in with an excited, "It's done!" Without asking for assistance or waiting for anyone to try to help, she begins moving pieces of her masterpiece to the table. As soon as Minato's eyes land on the roasted duck, everything else fades into the background. He doesn't even notice when she finishes the transfer, everyone claps their hands together in applause, and Ami announces, "_Bon appétit_!" As he dines, Minato thinks that Tatsumi Port Island just might be heaven on earth.

* * *

"This place gives me the creeps," Akio announces as soon as they step into Tartarus. He instinctively steps closer to his younger sister, who notices immediately and gives him a sharp look. "Are you sure you don't wanna go home?"

"We're not even going to talk about this," she says with finality. Shiori turns to Phil, who's busy admiring the interior of the tower. "What exactly are we doing here, by the way?"

"Becoming acquainted with the unknown," he answers. He wanders over to the staircase that leads up to a large face of a clock and stairs up at it with contemplation. "I'm sure that motley crew has already seen quite a bit, and I'm not the kind of man that takes kindly to being disadvantaged." Phil shoves his hands into his pockets as he faces the other members of his team. "Well, standing around isn't going to do us very much good. Kusanagi, Akio — I want the two of you to come with me."

"And what about me?" Shiori protests, trying to remain as calm as possible.

The corner of his lips quirks upward in mild amusement; he can sense the anger boiling underneath her calm facade. "We need someone to keep watch, and who better than our lovely ladies?"

"Don't patronize me."

"Shiori, please," Kanzeon says, trying to mediate. "We'll go in next time." She turns an accusatory glare in Phil's direction despite her words. "I would never be so foolish as to think that you were making this decision because you thought us females to be incapable."

He chuckles. "Of course not, Kanzeon. That wasn't my intention at all."

"Let's just go," Sasaki grunts, stalking past Phil, up the staircase. Phil bows to Shiori and Kanzeon (both of whom are now outwardly glowering at him), then heads on up with Akio. Akio spares an apologetic glance in his sister's direction before the trio heads through the opening in the face. For only a moment, they are draped in complete darkness, with only the sound of a ticking clock to accompany them. Then they're standing on tiled floor in dim lighting, surrounded by stacked up furniture and walls oozing with blood. Sasaki immediately reels back when he takes in the strange place they've been transported to. "What the hell?"

"How interesting," is all Phil says.

"Yeah, interesting," Akio murmurs, his gray eyes barely registering his surroundings.

"Well, shall we?"

They wander across the floor carefully until they come to a staircase. The higher and the further up they progress through the floors, the more confident they become and split up. Akio wields his gun with a strong hand and watches his back, running from the Shadows that crawl along the floor. Sasaki grins as he slices through the monsters that attack him from around the corners, easily taking them down one by one. Phil proceeds with the calculating eyes of a leader, attacking when he must and fleeing whenever possible; the baseball bat at his side remands tightly held in his right hand. When the three of them regroup, Sasaki and Akio finally catch up to Phil, the latter is observing a barrier with curiosity.

"It appears as though we can't go up any higher," he says. "I wonder why…" He moves his hand towards the film-like barrier, which sizzles and hisses quietly when his skin is only a centimeter away from it. He pulls his hand back, shoves it into his pocket, and turns around to face Sasaki's irritation expression. "You don't look too happy, Kusanagi," he points out blandly.

"This was just a waste of time," Sasaki says. "We've just run into more questions."

"You say that as though it's a bad thing."

The dark-haired male's glare could easily cut through iron. "Can you stop speaking in riddles for once?"

While Sasaki's glare is directed entirely on Phil, Phil's attention shifts to Akio, who's no longer standing beside them. Instead, he's crouching near the corner, hovering over a figure that Phil can barely make out. "What are you looking at, brother?" Phil asks as he walks over. Akio doesn't answer and he doesn't need to, because what's there is enough to explain itself: in simplest terms, it's a robot. It resembles a teenage boy, with ruffled pale grey hair and blue (though pale and milky) eyes. Most eye-catching, other than its metal limbs, is the white headset he wears; they resemble earphones. Phil kneels down to get a better look at the robot, and raises his eyebrows in surprise when he makes out a small stamp on his ear that reads 'Kirijo - Cronus.' "Cronus," he mumbles.

Like a child awakening at his mother's call, the robot suddenly stirs and its formerly pale eyes glow. Akio and Phil jump back immediately and Sasaki, who had been standing back, curses as he quickly summons his Persona. "Selaphiel!" The archangel appears in a quick flash, calling upon a bolt of lightening to strike the robot. The robot creaks from the spell before falling to the ground in a heap.

Phil looks at Sasaki admonishingly. "What did you do that for!?"

"Uh, to save your lives!"

"That could have been vital to our findings."

"Are you seriously yelling at me for saving your ass?"

As they bicker, Akio slowly inches toward the robot, which is slightly steaming from Selaphiel's attack. He cocks his head to the side as he lightly prods at the mechanical being. "Hey, guys," he says, trying to catch their attention. We he looks in their direction, they're still bickering like he's not even there, and he sighs in defeat. Akio shifts so that he's hovering over the robot's head, turns it slightly so that he has access to its neck, and pushes up the hair; he can make out a number printed just under his hairline. "What's this…?"

The head suddenly turns to face Akio; its eyes are bright and lively. "My model number," it says.

Out of surprise, Akio yelps and kicks away from the robot, finally gathering the attention of his teammates. "I-it's alive!"

Like a demonstration, the robot picks itself up so that it's standing. None of them dare to approach it as it looks around. As strange as it may be, it doesn't seem to pose a threat. "I am in Tartarus," it says, and its eyes flash for a moment. "The nest of Shadows is here. Current position: sixteenth floor, Thebel." Its eyes are clouded with static, then disappear, and the robot looks like it's finally awake. "Oh." It looks around with curiosity, particularly awed by the three humans within its vicinity. "Hello."

"Hey there," Akio greets with a lazy smile. Sasaki looks exasperated, but Akio shrugs dismissively. "What are you doin' up here, big guy? It's not really safe, especially on your own."

"I am a prototype anti-Shadow weapon. My safety is ensured."

Phil cocks an eyebrow. "Anti-Shadow weapon? I didn't know Kirijo made those." He strokes his chin thoughtfully as he begins pacing back and forth, observing the robot; the entire time, its eyes follow him. "But what are you doing up here…?"

"I have been here for years," it says.

Something clicks as a knowing smile spreads across Phil's face. "You don't say…" He and Sasaki exchange a look before he steps towards the weapon, extending a hand. It instinctively backs away, viewing his hand with guarded curiosity. "Cronus, correct?"

It nods. "That is my manufacture name, yes."

He reaches forward to grab its hand, squeezing it in an awkward, one-sided handshake. "I'm Phil Luciano."

* * *

Minato can't help but wonder, after a small talk with his classmate Kenji Tomochika, how many people actually think he and Yukari are together. Sure, teenagers will gossip, but he's only been here for a little over two weeks, and he barely knows the girl they're all attaching him to. Aside from that, how big of a deal is it _actually_ to be Yukari's boyfriend? Everyone is making it out to be a life and death matter, and Minato's not sure if he'll ever be emotionally or mentally prepared for that kind of relationship with anyone, let alone someone he barely knows. "She's very popular, you know," Yoshioka says when he asks her at lunch.

"Junpei told me, yeah," he replies.

"Then you should understand. You understand how the social hierarchy in high school works, right?" She outright laughs at his blank stare, pats him on the cheek like he's a child. "You're great, cutie. I wish I could go for a guy like you."

He tilts his head. "What do you mean?"

"Ah, you're not really my type."

Minato thinks about asking her what her type is, but he doubts she would give him a straight answer. "Well, you're seeing Onahana-senpai, aren't you?"

She shrugs casually as she reapplies her lip gloss. "Nah. I broke it off."

"Why?"

Yoshioka looks at him and just knows what Minato isn't the kind of guy who gossips or passes on information about his classmates to others out of enjoyment. She knows that he's genuinely curious and concerned; the small dip in his brow is testament to that. She can't help but smile at the kindness of her new acquaintance. "It just didn't work out, is all." She smiles, but he can tell it's stressed, and now he feels a barrier between them. He wonders if there's anything he can do to overcome that barrier. "Well, I'm gonna go meet up with Benji. He promised he'd buy me cheese bread."

Just as soon as she leaves, another classmate joins him. "Hey, man," Kenji says, grinning. "I'm gonna get some ramen after school with a friend. You wanna come?"

Minato blinks, having not expected this. "Why are you asking me?"

"No reason, really. I just don't have anything to do later… and I thought we could finish our conversation from this morning." Minato definitely doesn't want to talk about his and Yukari's nonexistent relationship. "So whaddya say, man? Let's get some ramen and talk. 'Sides, you're new here, right? You should try to get to know as many people as you can." He doesn't want to defend himself for an afternoon, but he thinks that Kenji does have a point (about getting to know people), and he wouldn't mind having some ramen. It's been a while since he's had authentic ramen that didn't come out of a package.

"Yeah, sure."

After school, before heading to Hagakure, they meet up with Kenji's friend in front of the shoe lockers. The boy, though a first year, is about an inch taller than Minato, with short dirty blond hair, hazel eyes, and a slender build. "Hey, Kenji," he greets. "What's up?"

"This is the guy I was talking to you about," Kenji says, patting Minato's shoulder. "This is Minato Arisato. Minato, this is Zain Sano. He's my American buddy! … Geez, we have a lot of Americans studying with us this year, huh?" They walk side by side out of school, with Kenji in the middle. Minato notices that Zain looks a little nervous and figures that he just might be shy, which is understandable since he's a first year from another country. "Hey, Minato, you said you've lived in California, right? That's where Zain's from!"

"Really?" Minato tries to address the blond, but his gaze is focused intently on his blue running sneakers.

"Yeah," he mumbles, so quietly that neither Kenji nor Minato can actually hear him. The only way they know he's actually said anything is the fact that his lips moved (though barely).

"He's just really shy," Kenji mouths to Minato behind a hand. Minato just nods because he doesn't feel like pushing a guy who's feeling anxious.

They follow Kenji to the Iwatodai strip mall, then up a series of stairs before entering Hagakure. The atmosphere is perfect for a ramen shop, Minato thinks as he takes a seat. "Does that say 'Risette'?" Minato asks as he looks up at all the autographs hanging on the wall. The Japanese idol is popular even overseas, and no matter where he went, he met fans of Risette; the fact that her autograph is here in Tatsumi Port Island shouldn't surprise him as much as it does.

"Yeah, incredible, huh? Famous people come in here all the time, dude," Kenji explains. He calls out to the cook to order three "of the usual." Minato almost asks what "the usual" is, but decides against it and just goes with the flow. As soon as the bowl slides in front of him, Kenji begins to devour his ramen. "Whew! Now that's what I'm talkin' about!" he cheers when he finally pulls up for breath. "Well, was I right, or was I right? This ramen tastes great, doesn't it?" When he sees that Minato hasn't even picked up his chopsticks, he glares at him with such ferocity that Minato's limbs move on their own and he too slurps up the ramen (though it's more out of fear than actual appreciation of the food). "I bet they put a special ingredient in it — something no other ramen shop uses. It's probably some sort of secret spice… Oh, sorry. My bad. I get all geeked up when I eat here."

Even if the hot soup is burning his throat, Minato does have to admit that there's something special about this ramen. It's certainly unlike anything he's ever had before. "I agree with you."

"You do? Really? I mean, you can appreciate the subtle yet distinct flavor of the soup? … Wow, you don't look like the type of guy I'd normally hang around with… But I guess looks aren't everything."

Zain chortles, surprising Minato. "What does that even mean?"

Kenji scowls as he punches him in the arm. "I don't know, man! I'm just trying to be deep." Zain rolls his eyes and returns to eating his ramen, but there's a slight grin on his lips. "Hey, by the way, Minato, I hear you and Yukari are close." Minato resists the urge to groan. "Damn, boy, you move fast! I mean, you just transferred here. … I can't blame you, though. A man's gotta be aggressive nowadays."

"But with Yukari?" Zain mumbles.

"You don't like her?" Minato asks.

He rolls his shoulders, looking slightly uncomfortable. "Eh, it's not that I don't like her… She's just a bit uptight and kinda hard to talk to."

This he certainly understand, especially when he looks back on their first meeting and the way she snapped at Junpei for spreading rumors. "Yeah, I can see that."

Zain is appreciative of his words, but Kenji waves off their conversation with a flick of his wrist. "Whatever, man. Yukari's a total steal. Anyway… Minato, we should hang out after school again sometime. Me, you, and Zain yeah? We'll get some food and I'll tell you about my secret plan…" He grins in a way that absolutely terrifies Minato. "Wait 'til you hear it, dude. You're gonna flip! … Ah crap, I just spilled all over." He mournfully glances down at the large stain on his white school shirt. "Shit, I'll be right back." He dismisses himself, leaving Minato and Zain alone.

"Sorry about earlier," Zain says immediately afterwards. "I'm just kind of shy and… Well, I'm not great at meeting new people. I'm still trying to work on it. That, and my Japanese."

Minato tries not to laugh because he's afraid that Zain will think he's mocking him. Really, his attempt at speaking the language is pretty good, especially for an American who hasn't been here long. Instead, he smiles. "No worries. I understand where you're coming from."

"Great! Well… I hope we can be friends."

"Yeah, definitely."

Kenji returns, fruitlessly scrubbing at his shirt with a paper towel. "Well, my mom's definitely gonna have a field day with this one… Ugh, ramen makes laundry day so much worse…" He sighs dramatically as he pulls out money to pay for his dinner. "Anyway, we should probably get going… Let's hang out soon, alright?"

And just like that, Minato feels a strong tug towards both Kenji and Zain. _Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a Persona of the Magician Arcana…_ He blinks away the card flashing behind his eyes and finds the two grinning at him. "Yeah," he says, "soon."

* * *

"It's a quiet night in the dorm, isn't it?" Mitsuru asks as she joins Akihiko on the couch. "And it's just us upperclassmen, too… My, I feel so old." She chuckles. "And a bit nostalgic, too, since you're here with us, Shinjiro." The dark-eyed figure standing in the corner grunts when he's addressed, which draws a shared laugh from his friends. "Really, though, it's good to see you. I'll be frank, though, and say that I'm a bit surprised… I didn't think I'd see you in this dorm ever again."

"That makes two of us," he says, throwing a glare at Akihiko easily deflects.

"So then I'm guessing you're not here for a friendly visit," she comments. She's pleased to see the friend and teammate that left them two years ago, but she's not sure what his being here means. "Does this mean that… you're coming back?"

"No," he replies firmly.

"We don't know for sure," Akihiko says. He and Shinjiro glower at each other, neither one willing to back down. "We haven't really talked about it at length. Nothing's for sure yet."

"I never suggested I was coming back. Quit gettin' their hopes up, Aki." Irritably, he scratches his head through his beanie; it's taking all the self-control he has to not just punch his childhood friend in the mouth. "Look, you guys don't need me. Apparently, you've got more than enough members. I'm just here 'cause Aki kept houndin' me and won't get off my case."

Though she sighs, everyone can tell that Mitsuru is actually quite relieved. "Yes, well, he's been quite good at recruiting new members as of late… And I can't say I disagree with him. It would be nice to have you back with us."

"Tch."

"We'd all love to see you come back," Mitsuru says. She hesitates a moment before adding, "It… It would be nice to have another veteran around."

"Yeah, right. Veteran."

His eyes darken, and immediately they all know what he's thinking about it. "Stop it, Shinjiro," Mitsuru says, shaking her head at him. "You couldn't have—"

"Don't say it's not my fault," he growls, the tone of his voice surprising all of them. He stalks over to the door, both his hands shoved angrily into his pockets. "Look, I don't know why the hell I came here tonight. Maybe just to let you all know that I'm not coming back. You're doin' fine on your own; you don't need my help. You'll… You'll be fine." He does still care, probably cares too much, which is why he knows he has to leave. Shinjiro shakes his head as he opens the door to leave. "I'll see you guys around. Or not." The door closes behind him, and no one expects to see him re-enter.

Mitsuru turns sharply to Akihiko. "What was that about?"

"I just… I don't know. I was hopeful, I guess," he admits, rubbing the back of his neck. "Things've been going so well lately, you know."

"He can't just _forget_ what he did, Akihiko. What makes you think he'd want to come back after that?"

"Hey, you were just telling him that he couldn't help it!"

"Yes, but that doesn't erase the fact that he _did_ do it! Akihiko, you are so thick-headed sometimes." While Akihiko sits in silence, the redhead massages her now throbbing temples. "Well, it's been a long week. Perhaps all we need is a break." He dismisses himself without having listened to anything she said, probably to abuse his punching bag. Exhaling heavily, Mitsuru's eyes shift from the door, where she can still feel Shinjiro's presence standing.

* * *

_Closing Song:_ "It's Time" - Imagine Dragons

* * *

Again, I'm probably not gonna update this again until December, but maybe I'll be able to sneak one in between now and then. (That is a huuuuge maybe.) But if you'd like to chat or plan your character's story/introduction or anything, just shoot me a PM! Some inspiration and help sends a writer a long way, yeah? 8D

**New OCs that appeared in this chapter:**  
Shuya Fukunaga 'Cronus' (Sayuko25)  
Zain Sano (Draven22)

**xx, **der kapitan


	6. dive

Author's Note:

Phew, sorry for the late update. It's here, though! Also, happy holidays and Merry Christmas to everyone! :3

* * *

**L'Effet Papillon  
**"The Butterfly Effect"  
a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

Chapter Five  
Dive

_I will burn my dread  
__I once ran away from the god of fear  
__and he chained me to despair_

* * *

Minato is more than ready when the weekend finally comes. He doesn't have any real plans, other than the spend the majority of Sunday in bed sleeping. As usual, though, his plans to enjoy the comfort of his mattress and sheets are disrupted before they're even really within reach. Yoshioka runs up to him after classes end on Saturday and grabs him by the arm, tugging on it forcefully. "Hey, let's hang out tomorrow," she says. It sounds like more of a demand than a request, but Minato's a little afraid to ask for clarification. "You, me, Benji, and Junpei! Oh, we can invite Yukari too, if that's what you're worried about."

"Why would I be worried about that?" he asks, genuinely curious.

She raises an eyebrow, almost mockingly. "Because apparently you guys are the new hot couple of the school." He just blinks at her while she grins. "Okay, maybe you're not into the relationship jokes yet. But between you and me, you take it a lot better than Yukari."

Was Yukari really still upset over that? Honestly, he more or less forgot about it until the next person brought it up again (which was becoming less frequent through the week). "Wow…"

"Yes, wow, girls are such a mystery, yada yada… So, what do you say about hanging out?" Yoshioka juts out her lower lip in a pout that Minato is sure has won over every male she's used it on. "We can wander around Paulownia Mall or hang out at Port Island station, or something."

He has half the heart to decline because he was legitimately excited to nap for a full day, but her pout is triumphing and Igor's words about Social Links keep ringing in his ears. "Sure," he says, his lips tilting upwards into a slight smile. She squeals excitedly and gives his arm a squeeze.

"What's all the noise over here?" Benjiro asks as he joins them by Minato's desk. "I heard violent screaming and it's almost four in the afternoon."

Yoshioka rolls her brown eyes at him. "I was just talking to Minato about our plans for tomorrow."

Benjiro's expression converts to one of confusion. "Tomorrow?"

"Yes, tomorrow," she says with exasperation, lightly flicking his forehead. "We were gonna go to the mall with Junpei, remember?" Minato has a feeling that Benjiro only agrees because he's afraid of receiving anymore punishments from the forward female. "Anyway, I have a date, but we can talk about the details later. Can I have your phone?" Minato barely pulls it out of his pocket before she grabs it, punches in her number, and places it back into his hand. "Talk to you later, cutie." She throws him a wink, then skips off to meet with her love interest for the day.

Benji sighs when she's gone, though he wears a grin. "That one's a handful. Brave, too. There aren't many girls I know anywhere who can give a guy her number like that."

"Yeah. I feel like I'd rather deal with that than the whole reading between the lines thing, though. Too much work." He wanted to mention that being forward and aggressive like Yoshioka was a lot better than being passive-aggressive like Yukari, but the latter was in hearing distance and Minato wasn't quite ready to depart with his genitals. "Has she always been like that? Yoshi, I mean."

He shrugs. "I couldn't tell ya. We both transferred here at the same time, so I've only known her for about a year."

"You guys are friends though, aren't you?"

"Well, yeah. But the thing about Yoshi's that she doesn't like talkin' about herself all that much." Benjiro runs his his fingers through his bangs, effectively mussing them up. "It sounds crazy 'cause all she does is talk, but if ya really listen, you'll see she doesn't get into personal things. Well, personal things about her. She's all about bein' into others' personal things." His gaze wanders to the clock hanging on the wall and he jumps. "I'm gonna be late for practice. See ya tomorrow, Minato!"

Minato waves goodbye to Benjiro, then makes the trip back to the dorm alone. Ami and Akihiko have already started their dinners and begun eating when he steps into the lounge. "Good afternoon," his underclassman greets, looking up from her cup of ramen.

"Good afternoon," he replies politely. Minato takes a seat on the couch next to Akihiko, who is also flipping through the channels on the TV. "Is there anything good on?"

"Nah," Akihiko says. "Nothing good is ever on during this time of day." With a resigned sigh, he turns it off and throws the control onto the coffee table. "So how've you been?"

He rolls his shoulders in a shrug. "Alright. Kinda tired."

Ami laugh softly. "You're tired a lot, aren't you Senpai?" He nods because it's true and there's no point in denying it. "Have you ever thought about regulating your sleep schedule? My mom used to tell me that the reason why I couldn't sleep at night was because I took too many naps during the day."

Minato just gives her a look of confusion, though it's more about the getting too much sleep thing than the regulating thing. Was too much sleep even real…?

"Well, it doesn't really matter as long as you're getting your training in there," Akihiko says. "Which I hope you're doing, because you know the Shadows aren't waiting." Ami deadpans (because leave it to Akihiko to bring Shadows and Tartarus into casual conversation), but Minato bobs his head affirmatively. Akihiko is pleased. "Good. Hopefully I'll be joining you guys soon, and it'd be great if we all were on the same level."

"You know Mitsuru-senpai would be furious if she heard that," Ami teases.

The boxer grimaces. "Let's just keep it between us, then…"

The rest of the dorm slowly trickles in through the rest of the night. As usual, they break off individually and have dinner on their own before retreating to their rooms. Minato watches the strangely passive and evasive dynamic of his dorm mates and wonders if it's always been like this. Occasionally a couple of them will be sitting out in the lounge or the kitchen, but they rarely actually address each other or have a conversation. Minato has never lived in a dorm before, but he feels like this isn't really how living with peers should be.

"You've been sitting there for a while," Yukari says when it's just the two of them. "Aren't you tired yet?"

"Oh… I guess I just lost track of time." He turns his eyes to the clock and is surprised to see that it's already ten o'clock at night. "I was just watching everyone."

Her eyebrows raise in surprise. "I don't think you're really supposed to admit that kind of thing…"

"Really?" Minato is an honest teen who speaks what's on his mind with no ill intentions. Though he supposes he could do better to pay attention to the social repercussions of what he says, even if the repercussions don't bother him too much. "Sorry."

There's a small laugh on her lips. "Don't apologize for it. You struck me as the observant, silent type, you know. Not one of those weird guys who watches people so he can creep on them."

"Thank you?"

This time she actually laughs out loud. "I was joking." She pulls her pink cell phone out of her pocket and punches in a quick reply to whoever she's talking to. "Oh, you're hanging out with Yoshi and Benjiro tomorrow, right?"

"Aren't you?" he asks.

"I dunno, I haven't really decided yet. I should probably stay in and do some homework… I'm already struggling with some of the math material and we're only a couple weeks in."

"I can help if you want," he offers.

She blinks, then a smile slowly spreads. "Thanks, Minato. I'll let you know, though. Anyway, I should probably get to bed…" When they both stand up at the same time, she steps back, startled.

"I was gonna head up too," Minato says, not understanding her confusion.

"Oh. Right." Yukari is still flustered even though she tries to shrug it off. Minato reads her easily, but he doubts she'd appreciate him pointing it out. "Um, okay." They head up the stairs, with Yukari fidgeting nervously and Minato silently wondering what's wrong, until she bids him goodnight on the second floor. He watches her run up to the third floor with his head cocked to the side, then decides to just hit the hay. Girls are too confusing to try to figure out so late at night.

* * *

After being dragged around all of Paulownia Mall and the Iwatodai Strip Mall, Minato wishes he had declined the offer to hang out and had instead stayed in bed. He's a little pleased to see that he's not the only one exhausted from the day's journey, as both Benjiro and Junpei look like they want to pass out as well. Yoshioka and Yukari, however, can probably go on for several more hours without feeling the toll of endless shopping and meandering. The girls are at the front of the pack, marching forward arm in arm, oblivious to the struggling males behind them.

"I'm so glad I came out today," Yukari says. "Staying in with homework would have totally bummed me out."

"A good shopping trip will do wonders to the soul," Yoshioka replies wisely. She glances at the boys over her shoulder and notices their shoulders slumping and feet dragging. "Wusses."

"We're tired!" Junpei whines, tugging on his baseball cap. "We've been at this all day! My feet hurt! My back is aching! I'm dying!"

Yukari rolls her eyes. "Don't be such a baby, Stupei."

Junpei turns to Benjiro and Minato for assistance, but neither of them are willing to throw themselves under the bus when the drivers are two powerful girls. When Yukari and Yoshioka return to their own conversation, Junpei punches Benjiro's arm. "Thanks for nothing," he hisses.

"It's a dog eat dog world," Benjiro says in a whisper, rubbing his arm. "I ain't gettin' chewed out by them to save your ass."

Minato rubs the back of his neck, which is beginning to feel sore. "Hey, why don't we watch a movie?" They all stop to look at the movie theater. "There are some good ones out now, and it's getting late anyway." And really he just wants to sit down and maybe take a short nap.

"Yeah, sounds good," Benjiro and Junpei say.

"Well, we have been up all day… And there's that new chick flick I've been wanting to say." When Benjiro groans, Yoshioka laughs and waves him off. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. I'm willing to watch—" She gasps in surprise when her phone starts going off, and promptly drops all of her bags in order to rummage through her purse. She turns away from the group when she holes the phone to her ear. "Hello? Oh, hey Daisuke… Yeah, I'm out with my friends right now. … Oh. Oh, yeah, sure. I guess. Yeah, no, it's not a big deal. Okay." After she hangs up, she faces them with an apologetic simper. "Actually, I gotta go."

"Where?" Junpei asks.

Yoshioka gathers up her bags. "Home. My brother got called in to work and he doesn't wanna leave his pregnant wife at the house, so I guess I'm babysitting for the rest of tonight. Sorry, guys."

"Are you walking alone? I'll come with you," Benjiro offers.

She waves him off. "No, no, I'm fine. I'm just around the corner, and there's still some sun." No one looks convinced, but she insists. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Alright, but text me when you get home!" Yukari says.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine! Enjoy the movie, guys." She glances over her shoulder, makes sure they actually buy the tickets to watch whatever it is they agreed to see, then continues on home. The sun sets a little quicker than she thought it would, so it's already dark out by the time she gets off the train. Yoshioka confides in the dim street lights to carry her safely through the neighborhoods, though she can't help the nervous pumping her chest. "_Maybe I should have asked Benji to walk with me,"_ she thinks as she pulls her belongings closer to her body. Last year, she had no problem with walking home late at night, but things have been crazy lately with Apathy Syndrome and missing students…

_"I'm fine,"_ she tells herself. _"I'll be okay. It's fine. Nobody will_—"

She turns the corner too quickly and actually screams when she walks straight into another body. Her flying fist is easily caught in a large, warm hand, and other attempts to defend herself (which weren't very practical anyway) were easily deflected. "Hey, what the hell? Cut it out." A masculine voice grunts when one of her feet hits a shin, then suddenly she's held in place by her shoulders. Yoshioka blinks when she finds herself staring up at a pair of dark eyes. "I'll let you go when you're done trying to play drunken master."

It's one of her upperclassman, she realizes with embarrassment. Yoshioka drops her fists and steps away, more with shame than fear. "Sorry," she says quickly. "I thought you were—"

"I know who you thought I was," he interrupts. "Why were you walking around alone? It's dark out, and obviously you knew what kinda people are out here at this time since you tried to gauge my eyes out."

Yoshioka frowns, her former fear and embarrassment replaced with irritation. "I was fine." His scoff offends her even more. "Besides, you look like the thugs that hang around allies at night. It's not my fault I easily mistook you for one." He shakes his head at her, though she notices him raising his fingers to his beanie.

"Whatever," he grumbles.

An indigo-haired figure walks up to her savior/offender just a moment later, wearing a laugh on his lips. "Hey man, are you alright? I heard a scream. I didn't think you were possible of making such a high-pitched sound…"

The brunet rolls his eyes and elbows his friend, whereas Yoshioka turns a shade of pink. "Shut up," he says.

The lighter male turns his gaze to Yoshioka, who jumps at the eye contact. His eyes are dichromatic: the left is green and the right red. His look is intense and makes her shrink back, even though he tries to grin to reassure her. "Hey, you're a Gekkoukan student. We're in the same grade, I think. I'm Hiyu Akinahra." He nudges his friend, who brushes him off, but he laughs anyway. "He's Shinjiro. He looks like a bully, but he's actually kinda nice once you get to know him."

"Ahh…" Unsure of how to respond, she shifts her attention from one to the other. In the end, she just focuses on Hiyu, who seems like the more approachable one. "Right. Well… Thanks, I guess. I need to get home, though."

"Do you want someone to come with you?" Hiyu asks. "I mean… Considering everything."

She immediately opens her mouth to decline, but a snide look from Shinjiro has her thinking it over. She doesn't know either of these boys, but they're both from Gekkoukan… And if her brother knew that was walking alone in the dark at night, he'd be furious, and he'd tell their father which would be even _worse_. She awkwardly runs her fingers through her loosely curled hair as she nods. "Yeah, I… I guess. Thanks."

Hiyu smiles. "Alright. Do you wanna—"

"No," Shinjiro says immediately. Without saying anything more, he shoves his hands into the pockets of his pea coat and stalks off.

Even if he can't see it, Yoshioka makes sure to glare a hole into his back while he retreats. "Don't mind him," Hiyu says with a chuckle. "He's pretty slow to warm up. C'mon, let's take you home. I feel like it's gonna get chilly soon." He extends his arm to her and, with some obvious hesitation, she loops her own through his. He mumbles, more to himself than to her, "Night falls a lot quicker these days."

* * *

The next day at school, Yoshioka looks slightly frazzled. "Are you okay?" Yukari asks when the honey blonde stumbles into the main hallway after classes.

"I'm fine," she says quickly. "Fine."

"Alright…" She had received a text from Yoshioka when she got home, though Yukari was beginning to doubt that it had gone as smoothly and normally as she said. Still, it didn't seem like she wanted to talk about, and it was hard to pull things out of Yoshioka Itou if she wanted to keep them to herself. Seeing that she's not going to get anything else from her friend, Yukari turns to Minato. "Hey, didn't you have to meet with Mitsuru-senpai today?"

"You met with Mitsuru-senpai?" Junpei asks, sticking his head into the conversation. "What about?" Even underneath the brim of his hat they can make out him wiggling his eyebrows.

Yukari promptly smacks him, resulting in a loud yelp. "Yeah," Minato says, holding back a laugh. "She asked me to help out with Student Council. I met some of the people… Um, one was… Hidetoshi Odagiri?" The way both of them grimace makes him think that his initial impression about the Disciplinary Head wasn't too far off. "I guess he doesn't have too many fans around here."

"He's just a little hard to be around is all," Yukari says. She skirts around the words, as though afraid of offending Minato.

"He's a pain in the ass," Junpei says.

"I feel like he has good intentions," Minato says.

Junpei shrugs, unconvinced. "Good for you if you can actually deal with him. The rest of us are just trying to keep him out of our business." The three head back to the dorm, where their senpai are waiting for them in the lounge. The underclassmen stop in the doorway, feeling something ominous hanging in the air. "Uh, hey, senpai," Junpei greets uneasily. "What's up?"

"We were just talking about how it's been a while since we've, er, since _you've_ been to Tartarus." Akihiko rubs the back of his neck and averts his eyes from Mitsuru, who settles her icy glare on him. "I know you're the one in charge right now, Minato, but I feel like now's a good time to intervene a bit and give some advice. You guys need to keep training if you want to get stronger, you know."

Minato nods. Admittedly, he hadn't given much thought to Tartarus and fighting Shadows, probably because he's been so swamped with extracurricular activities and hanging out with people. (He doesn't realize how lame those excuses sound until he actually words them in his mind.) "Sorry. We'll go to tonight." He turns to Yukari and Junpei. "I mean, if you guys are okay with going tonight."

Yukari doesn't seem too enthusiastic, though he can hardly blame her. After they came out of Tartarus last time, all of them were exhausted. "Yeah, sure."

"Excellent," says Mitsuru. "Oh, just as a note, Murakumo is currently sick, so he won't be able to join you tonight."

Junpei quietly nudges Minato. "That would explain why he didn't come to school today."

"Which means you'll have to make do with me," Sakura says, flashing a toothy smile. Minato's actually relieved to have a more experienced party member with him tonight, and he's also fairly curious about her battle style.

"We'll leave when the time comes, then," Mitsuru says.

* * *

When the clock ticks and the Dark Hour arrives, the members of SEES are ready to go. As Yukari prepares her bow and Ami reloads her shotgun, Mitsuru calls over Minato. "I understand that the effects of Tartarus are… tiring," she begins, "but I'd like to urge you to go as far as you can today."

"What do you mean?" he asks.

"I feel a barrier. I don't know what we'll learn, or if we'll learn anything, but I think it'd be best if you tried to reach it today. Go up as many flights you can until you see it." Minato agrees with a simple bob of his head. "Good. Well, good luck with the exploration tonight."

Junpei loudly calls for him, already standing on the steps leading to the entrance to the first floor. "Ready to go?" Minato runs up the stairs to join Junpei, Ami, and Yukari, then presses forward.

* * *

Cronus stops. Phil, noticing the anti-Shadow weapon's sudden lack of movement, turns to him with a quirked eyebrow. "What is it, Cronus?" he asks. Shiori and Akio also shift their attention to him.

"I sense someone," Cronus says. His bright blue eyes flash and the wheels in his headset begin to spin. For a moment, a man with a robotic arm wielding a blacksmith hammer hovers over Cronus, but disappears quickly. "Someone else has entered Tartarus. Two people stand at the entrance, however a party of four have progressed higher into the tower. I believe their aim is to reach this barrier."

Phil sighs dramatically as he runs his gloved fingers through his hair. "Honestly, this group is getting to be a lot more troublesome than I had initially anticipated… How far up are they?"

"Several floors down. They are running low on stamina, though I believe that they have a healer with them."

"Hm."

Shiori prods at the barrier with her katana, but it's immediately reflected. "Maybe we should just leave," she says. "We're not getting anything done now, and they're gonna be up here eventually…"

Akio tries to inconspicuously push Shiori away from the barrier, but she sees through it and pushes him away. "What we need to do is figure out how to get rid of this barrier and see what else is up there. Do you have any idea, Cronus?"

Cronus shakes his head. "No. My Persona cannot see past the barriers of Tartarus."

"Ah… That's unfortunate. I guess it's all a matter of figuring it out on our own, then." Akio falls back onto his rear and puts his gun back in its holster. "I think we've observed this as much as we can. What we need to do is go back through the files we have and see if there's anything that explains these barriers. Maybe we overlooked something."

"I doubt it," Phil says. He's read through the files hundreds of times and he knows every word on every page. "But I suppose you're right. There's not much we can do at this point." He has the others gather around him, then pulls something out of his pocket. "Ready?"

"I hate these things," Shiori grumbles. "They make my stomach leap."

"How romantic."

Shiori's glower is absolutely seething, but Phil just laughs. Suddenly, in a blast of light and a noise of discomfort from Shiori, they're swooped away and transported just outside Tartarus. Kanzeon jumps back with a gasp, nearly falling over in the process, whereas Sasaki just looks a little more annoyed than usual. "You're back earlier than expected," Kanzeon says, blinking as the light surrounding them dissipates. "Did the search not go well?"

"We didn't get any further than we were before," Akio admits.

"I told you it was a waste of time," says Sasaki.

"I wouldn't say it was a complete waste," Phil says. "Apparently our friends are making their way up the tower tonight. This shows that they're picking up the pace and becoming more active. Which means that we, of course, must do so as well. It'd be rather embarrassing if they got the upper hand."

Kanzeon rolls a shoulder. "I highly doubt they'd be able to do that, considering how disorganized they are."

"All the same, being passive or apathetic would hurt us. We should go over the documents we have."

Sasaki actually groans. "We've been through those hundreds of times."

"Perhaps we'll find something new."

"Or perhaps we'll just waste more time, which you've been keen on doing a lot lately," Sasaki mumbles under his breath. Kanzeon tries to hide an amused smile behind her sleeve, but Phil just ignores him completely. "Anyway, are we done here for tonight? I've got a test I need to study for."

"Yes, yes, you're no longer needed here." Sasaki's used to Phil's jibes, so he merely snorts and walks away. "The rest of you should head home as well. It'd be a rather… awkward confrontation should they come out and see that we're still here. I have a feeling they're not quite ready to meet with us yet." Akio and Shiori head home together (with the latter wrenching her arm out of her older brother's protective hold), then Kanzeon departs. Phil tears his eyes away from the looming tower to look at Cronus. "We should return as well."

Cronus frowns ever-so-slightly. "To the laboratory?"

Phil chuckles. "No, brother. Home."

* * *

Even though they can't go any higher than the sixteenth floor because of the barrier, Minato makes sure to train every couple of days, both to get stronger and to keep Mitsuru off his back. He's sure that her intentions are well enough, but frankly she scares him a little; not even his aunt was as strict as she is. Pain and exhaustion aside, he does feel himself growing stronger and he can see the confidence in the others. It's still a little difficult to balance Tartarus with school work and spending time with friends, but he thinks he's starting to get the hang of it.

Today is May 1st. Akihiko texted Junpei earlier and requested the class roster for 2-E, and Yukari volunteered herself and Minato to accompany Junpei to the hospital where their senpai was having a check up. He waits for them by the shoe lockers until Yukari and Junpei come up, arguing like usual. "Ready?" he asks, cutting Yukari off mid-insult. He joins the duo, but his appearance does little (aka nothing at all) to quell their dispute. It's kind of fun to be around people who are so lively, but he can't help but wonder if their throats ever get sore from all that yelling. He starts to ask when Yukari suddenly stomps on Junpei's foot; Minato decides to just keep his mouth shut until they reach the hospital.

When they get to Akihiko's room, he's not actually there— though the room isn't vacant. A shifty-looking male is seated in a chair in the corner, and his eyes zone in on them the moment they enter.

Junpei swallows thickly. "Um… Is… Akihiko-senpai…?" The brown-haired visitor doesn't say anything, much to everyone's discomfort. "… in this room? By any chance?" Minato is actually resisting the urge to punch Junpei to get him to shut up; he'd rather deal with awkward silence than Junpei's attempt to socialize.

Fortunately, Akihiko returns just in time. "What are all of you guys doing here?" he asks, sounding surprised.

"We came to see you!" Yukari says. "But… it doesn't look like anything's wrong with you."

"I'm just here for a checkup."

At that, the quiet male in the corner stands up and approaches Akihiko. "Is that it, Aki?"

Akihiko nods. "Yeah, thanks."

The stranger's scowl has the three underclassmen shrinking away from him, even if it's directed towards Akihiko. "Tch… I don't have time for this shit." Junpei all but leaps out of the way to let him exit through the door.

"W-who was that?" Junpei whispers.

"A friend from school." Akihiko scratches his head. "Sort of." He takes the roster from Junpei, who raises his chin with pride. "You know how the number of Apathy Syndrome cases have been increasing? Well, he knows a few people whoa re suffering from it, so I was asking him about it. Oh yeah, thanks for this, Junpei."

"You can count on me!" As he holds the manila folder holding the roster under one arm, Akihiko uses the other to test his punches in the air. "Are you sure you should be doing that, Senpai?" Junpei asks, eyeing the silver-haired male wearily.

"It's nothing. I've wasted enough time already. I need to get back to my training." Minato can easily imagine the glare Mitsuru would give him if she were present.

Junpei also pumps his fist into the air. "Yeah! Gekkoukan's golden boy! He was born to be in the ring!"

Akihiko deadpans rather than accepting the compliment. "Sometimes, I really don't get you."

"Feel free to add your name to that long list," Yukari says with a laugh. Junpei pouts, feeling under appreciated, so Minato pats him on the back sympathetically. "By the way, Senpai, why boxing?"

"You mean, why did I choose the sport?" She nods. "Well… It's not the sport itself I like; I just wanted to learn how to fight. I know what it's like to feel powerless… and I don't want to feel that way again. Besides, I'm curious to see how strong I can get. It's like a game, only I'm competing against myself."

_And Shadows_, Minato wants to say.

"That's an interesting way of looking at it," Junpei says. "Ya know, I'm into games too."

Yukari chortles loudly. "Yeah, _video_ games."

"Hey, they're good for hand-eye coordination!" None of them look convinced, least of all Junpei. "Man, whatever. You guys suck."

* * *

The night before Golden Week, Minato has another strange dream. The mysterious boy in striped pajamas sits on the edge of his bed, as he always does when he visits in the dead of night. "Hi," the boy greets, like they're old friends. "How've you been?" This phantom seems to know him, even if he himself is still trying to figure out if this is reality or not. Honestly, it's gotten difficult to discern the line between actuality and fabrication.

"You again?" Minato murmurs as he wipes at his heavy eyes.

The boy chuckles before his expression becomes solemn. "One week from now, there will be a full moon… Be careful. A new ordeal awaits you."

What a strange boy with strange words. He fits perfectly into this abstract world of Personae and Tartarus and men with long noses.

"What kind of ordeal?" he asks, even though he already knows the answer.

The boy smiles knowingly. Minato thinks he can read minds. "You will encounter one of _them_. You must prepare for the ordeal, but time is of the essence… I'm sure you're aware of that, of course." The solid lines of his body fade away until he's no longer there— and suddenly he's standing at the foot of the bed. "I'll come see you again when it's over. Goodbye for now."

He doesn't even wait for Minato's goodbye before he disappears. _What bad manners_, Minato decides as he leans his head back on the pillow.

* * *

_Closing Song:_ "It's Time" - Imagine Dragons

* * *

Aaaand there you go! I'm going to be dedicating the next chapter to Golden Week, so you'll get to see plenty of character interaction then, and I'm hoping to include all the OCs in that one. If you have any requests (who you'd like to see your character with, what canon characters you'd like to see more of, etc.), just drop it in a review!

Again, Happy Christmas to everyone!

**New OCs that appeared in this chapter:  
**Hiyu Akinahra (Demons Anarchy Pride)

**xx, **der kapitan


	7. golden week

Author's Note:

Aaaaand here's chapter six! Again, I'm sorry for the late updates, but I keep bogging myself down with stories and ideas. XD As I promised, here's Golden Week. Also — if you haven't been reviewing/keeping in touch, I'll probably drop your character. I do have a lot of characters I'm juggling right now, so having someone who's still invested is what I need. I also know that waiting for your OC to show up is difficult, so I'll wait to hear a reply after this chapter before I make any adjustments.

* * *

**L'Effet Papillon  
**"The Butterfly Effect"  
a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

Chapter Six  
Golden Week

_I will burn my dread  
__I once ran away from the god of fear  
__and he chained me to despair_

* * *

_Today is Constitution Day… It's the beginning of Golden Week._

Mitsuru keeps dogging him and guilting him about his recovery, so Akihiko spend his first day of Golden Week in the dorm. Before he goes skipping out with Minato and Yukari, Junpei makes sure to tease and make fun of him until he's red in the face. Sometimes he thinks about how embarrassing it is that she has such a firm control over him, but then he remembers her execution and decides that a slightly stunted ego is worth the humiliation.

Mitsuru sits on the couch adjacent to him, sipping at coffee that makes her wince because of the bitterness. "I used too many grounds," she mumbles, clearly discontent, as she puts the cup on a coaster on the table.

Akihiko chuckles. "You still haven't learned how to make a decent cup of coffee yet? You live off the stuff."

"I'm a bit attached to the coffee Shinjiro used to make for us, so I don't think I'll be able to live up to that standard." Mitsuru sighs dramatically as she leans back, sinking into the cushion. "You've been talking to him a lot lately," she directs to Akihiko, making a statement rather than a question. "What's he up to?"

The silver-haired male hesitates to answer as he remembers what had happened with Shinjiro just a short while ago. Mitsuru doesn't seem to be upset over it anymore, but he's never been a good read of women, even (or especially) of those close to him. "He's been keeping his distance," he says. "I see him every now and then at Hagakure, but he's still pretty mad that I ambushed him." He rubs the back of his neck in shame. "I thought I'd try talking to him again soon…"

"Akihiko." He flinches at the frosty tone of Mitsuru's voice. "Don't push him into anything. I do agree that it would be nice to have him back, but…" She lowers her gaze, shakes her head at the memories that replay in her mind. "To be honest, I don't expect him to rejoin us."

"I'll find a way to convince him!" Akihiko insists.

Mitsuru outwardly shakes her head. "Like I said, don't push him," Mitsuru says. "I really can't blame him for wanting to stay away. I worry about him a lot, but there are more important matters at hand."

Akihiko wants to protest (Shinjiro's their _friend_, after all), but ultimately he knows that she's right. Their numbers have grown considerably since it was the four of them — him, Mitsuru, Shinjiro — and even if there are many questions to be answered, at least they have some idea of what to do. There's a part of him that will always long for Shinjiro's companionship among SEES again, but he might have to concede that it will never happen again. "Yeah, I know," he says eventually.

Mitsuru shifts in her seat. Now she feels bad for bringing down the mood. "So, do you have any plans for the weekend?"

"No, I'm staying in." _Because you're making me_, he wants to add, but he refrains. "What about you?"

"I'm having company over, actually. I would very much appreciate it if you were on your best behavior." She goes to answer the door after a knock sounds, in which Akihiko makes a face. "I saw that," she says, just before opening the door to a figure who's face is obscured by a book. "Mmm, how nice, a social date with a book. That's exactly how I wanted to spend my Golden Week."

The male drops the book to reveal a sheepish grin. "Sorry. I was getting to a part I really liked." He tucks the book underneath his arm as he steps inside. "Hm…? I didn't know you lived with Akihiko."

"That's not really something I advertise," Mitsuru jokes. "The last thing I want is to get mauled by his fangirls."

Akihiko doesn't really understand the fangirl comment, but he greets the familiar brunet. "Hey Jared. I didn't know you were friends with her." His eyes move from the red-haired female to the male combing his hair upwards. "Did you guys meet at book club or something…? Wait, does Gekkoukan _have_ a book club?" Sakura asks.

"No," says Mitsuru and Jared. The latter's ears turn red as he averts his gaze. "I checked," he admits in a small voice. He joins Mitsuru on the couch, making sure to give her sufficient space. "Your dorm is really nice. It must be expensive to stay here."

"It's not too bad," Akihiko says. "It probably costs less than the dorms sponsored by the schools."

"This dorm isn't sponsored by the school?"

If looks could kill, Akihiko would be ten feet under and Mitsuru would be charged with murder (though her family and background could easily get her out of it). "It was funded by the Kirijo Corporation, so most of the money actually goes back to them," Mitsuru explains while Akihiko's insides shrivel. "Anyways, would you like some coffee, Jared?"

Akihiko quickly reaches over and stops her. "Um, I'll make the coffee." Mitsuru's shoulders drop a little bit, but she knows it's for the best so she acquiesces. "I'll be right back."

This could be a long afternoon.

* * *

"Is my appearance adequate?"

Kanzeon steps back to get a better look at Cronus, who she's dressed in a grey coat, black pants, a charcoal-colored sweater, and a white scarf. She scrutinizes his incognito wear for a moment before grabbing a beanie and gloves to accessorize. "There," she says, pleased with her final work. "I think that should do." Looking at him dressed as he is now, she decides that there's no way anyone would think he was a robot. She glances at Sasaki, who's been standing in the corner the entire time. "How do you think he looks?"

The addressed just grunts. He's still pissed off that Phil's making him babysit the Anti-Shadow weapon on his day off.

With a small sigh, Kanzeon turns back to Cronus and smiles. "You look good."

Cronus raises his arms and observes the clothing that covers his mechanical body. "I understand." The gloves feel a little weird and he doesn't think the hat suits him well, but if Kanzeon says it's fine that's good enough for him. "Will we be venturing out into the city today? What is the mission?"

He turns to Sasaki when the latter groans, but Kanzeon laughs softly and takes his arm in a supporting fashion. "There's no mission today, Cronus— Oh, wait. Phil said we should call you something else. Cronus isn't exactly a 'normal' name, in Japanese society or anywhere else really."

Sasaki jogs forward a little to catch up with them. "You're gonna rename him?"

"It is kinda wrong," she says, agreeing, "but Phil has a point. We have to get him to blend in, and going around with a name like Cronus isn't going to help. Do you mind?" She turns to Cronus, who she realizes is the same height as her.

He shakes his head. "No. I understand that I must make concessions if I am to operate to the best of my abilities." He then flashes a smile, which takes both Kanzeon and Sasaki by surprised; he hasn't shown any emotion since they found him in Tartarus. "You are the ones who have helped me recover, after all. I am in your debt and shall do the best I can to repay you for your hard work."

"Oh, wow. Well, thank you…?" Kanzeon and Sasaki exchange a look of mild confusion (_"Robots are really polite,"_ Sasaki thinks) before Kanzeon gives his arm a light tap. "Mm, well, I think we should give you a Japanese name. That way we won't have to come up with some back story about your moving across continents just to come to Japan." She looks to Sasaki for help, but he shrugs helplessly and merely shoves his hands into the pockets of his black jacket. "Geez… Is this how mothers feel when they're naming their children?" she asks, more to herself than to the others.

Sasaki snorts. "You're comparing a robot to your child?"

"Not _my_ child, just _a_ child," she snaps. "Motherhood isn't anywhere in my near future…" With a sigh, she adjusts her Victorian-styled jacket and drifts further into thought. When a name finally surfaces (about fifteen minutes later, while they walk into the quad of Paulownia Mall), she gives his arm a light squeeze. "How does Shuya sound?"

"Shuya," Cronus repeats.

She blushes slightly. "I don't know why that name came up. It just sounds nice, I guess."

"Then I agree," he says. "It sounds nice."

Kanzeon laughs. "I get the feeling you're just saying that to be polite, but I'll take it. From now on, we'll call you Shuya."

* * *

Makiko's shift at Otaku's Paradise is finally over, which means she can enjoy what's left of Constitution Day. With a sigh of content, she pulls off her wig and allows her hair to fall freely down her back. Just as she takes a seat at a table outside of the café, she spots a familiar figure in the distance. "Junpei-kun!"

"Hey, it's Makiko!" Junpei greets her with an excited wave. "Did you just get off work?" he asks as he walks up to her. "You're working during Golden Week?"

Makiko motions for him to join her at the table. She carefully puts her wig into her backpack before ordering a couple of drinks for all of them. "I just worked today so I could get a couple hours in. Actually…" When her cheeks turn pink, Junpei wiggles his eyebrows suggestively and nudges her for more information. "W-well, Takeru's actually gonna be in town, so I'm spending time with him."

"Eh?" Junpei cocks his head to the side, utterly confused. "Who's Takeru?"

The color in Makiko's face intensifies. "It's really not that big of a deal, but when you make me just say it it's kind of embarrassing…"

He deadpans. "I still don't get it."

Makiko slaps her hands to her burning cheeks, too overwhelmed by her emotions and the bubbling excitement in her stomach. Eventually she says, "Takeru is my boyfriend. He's currently away on business."

Before Makiko can respond, Junpei yelps and sits up in his seat. "You have a boyfriend!?"

She nods shyly. "We've been dating for a couple of years… I'm sure I've mentioned him in a conversation or something."

"How come I've never met him? I thought we were buds!"

Makiko laughs as her complexion turns back to normal. "We are buds, Junpei! I swear I've told you about him. He's been really busy for the last couple of years because he's been traveling. His family owns the Akamatsu Inn, which he's gonna inherit once his mom retires. They're trying to expand it globally, so he just goes around talking to people in different countries. Tomorrow'll be the first time I've seen him in seven months."

"Seven months!?" Junpei's jaw hangs open in shock. He can't imagine not talking to a girl (or trying to) for seven months. He also can't imagine being in a relationship for years, especially while in high school, but that's an entirely different matter. "How do you guys stay in a relationship if you haven't talked in seven months?"

"I said I haven't seen him in seven months," she says. "We still talk — usually through letters. Sometimes it takes a while because we have to send them across oceans, but it's worth it." She shrugs, like it's no big deal and Junpei can't understand it for the life of him. "I'm really excited to see him tomorrow, though. He thinks his mom is going to pick him up, but I'm tagging along as a surprise. He doesn't really like surprises, but I think he'll be able to make an exception."

He wails dramatically. "Sounds like something out of a chick flick. And I'm still here, all alone…"

Makiko pats him sympathetically on the shoulder. "I'm sure you'll find someone, Junpei-kun."

* * *

_Today is Greenery Day… It's the second day of Golden Week._

Minato wanders to Naganaki Shrine on his own early in the morning before going to meet Chihiro for a movie at the Port Island Station theater. He expects it to be pretty desolate (who actually goes to shrine on their day off?), so he's pretty surprised when he sees two people — one his age and the other just a child — sitting on the jungle gym. He's even more surprised when he recognizes one of the faces. "Zain?"

The blond jumps upright when he hears his name and is so startled that he actually falls backwards off the bar, onto the sand. The little girl he had been whispering to squeals, more out of concern for Zain than out of actual fear, and tries to help him up. "Damn," Zain grumbles as he sits up, rubbing his head. Minato shuffles over quickly and apologizes for the scare. "Huh? No, it's fine… I probably should have been paying more attention. Sorry for scaring you, Maiko."

"I thought you were hurt!" she says, tugging on the lapels of her jean jacket. While he's still recovering, she turns her attention to Minato and immediately her attention zooms in on the drink and snacks in his hands. "Um… Are you Zain's friend?"

Minato smiles. "Yeah."

"Oh, good. My parents said I can't talk to strangers, but if you're his friend, then I guess I kinda know you…" Despite the words coming out of her mouth, her eyes have yet to actually meet his.

He's thirsty and he'd been looking forward to trying this (weird) takoyaki for a while now, but the look in her eyes is too much. "Do you want this?" Minato asks, lowering both so that they're in her grasp. "I don't need them — I just had breakfast."

Maiko's eyes light up, but she tries to suppress her excitement. "Oh! Are you sure…?" Her gaze wanders to Zain, silently asking for permission. When he nods, she gratefully takes both the takoyaki and the Mad Bull. "Thanks so much! You're really nice. Will you play with me sometime?"

"Ah, yeah, sure. I'd love to." Maiko thanks him one more time before saying goodbye to both of them, saying something about being late for a piano lesson. "She's a nice girl," he says, joining Zain on the jungle gym. "Is she your sister?"

"Does she look like my sister?" Zain asks with a laugh. "No, she's a friend of my little sister's, actually. She, uh…" He scratches his neck and looks down at the ground in embarrassment. "She's actually helping me with my Japanese."

Out of the corner of his eye, Minato spots a folded up piece of paper in Zain's hand. "Your homework?"

Zain realizes what Minato's referring to and he quickly pockets the paper, but now his face is bright red. "Ah, yeah. Homework." It's absolutely a lie (there's no reason why anyone should blush that brightly over a sheet of homework), but Minato doesn't push because he doesn't want to make the younger male uncomfortable. It's never been in his nature to pry, anyway. "So, how's your Golden Week been? We only have today and tomorrow, then it's back to school."

"It's been good. I was out most of the day with Junpei and Yukari yesterday, so I'm gonna relax a little today. Maybe I can just sleep tomorrow." Zain laughs because he thinks Minato's joking; it doesn't register that the navy-haired boy is absolutely serious. Dismally, he thinks, _"No one here understands the importance of sleep_."

* * *

Her date with Hayato-senpai of the chemistry club is an absolute bust, and Yoshioka now finds herself without anything to do for the rest of day. _"Who the hell chooses to go to an otaku café for a first date?"_ she thinks bitterly as she fiddles with the strap of her purse. _"Weirdos, that's who."_ She continues to mutter to herself en route to Chagall Café, when she almost literally runs into an expectant Hiyu. "Woah! You!"

"Me?" Hiyu grins lopsidedly at her in greeting. "You forgot my name already?"

"Please, I could never forget the name of someone with that face," she coos, giving his arm a playful shove. Hiyu's a little startled by her forward reply, especially considering how jumpy she was the last time they met, but she doesn't give him enough time to over analyze it. "So what are you doing out here? You struck me as the type to keep to your back alleys and sketchy clubs."

He ogles at her before he lapses into a fit of snickers. "I think you're confusing me with Shinjiro." She wrinkles her nose in distaste at the memory of the boy in the beanie, which causes him to laugh harder. "Guess he didn't leave that good of an impression on you. He's kinda hard to get along with."

"Tch'yeah. That's one way to put it. Anyway, you didn't answer my question?"

"What was the question?"

She fakes a look of exasperation. "What are you doing here?"

He could just tell her the answer, he thinks, but she seems like a fun person to tease. "I don't know, detective, what do you think I'm doing here?"

"Trying to look for things to loot and people to rob?"

"Hey, hey, that's Shinjiro, remember?"

"Ugh, twenty questions is a lot less fun when someone else is doing the asking…"

Before he can make another comment, someone roughly tugs on the back of his trench coat, pulling him out of the conversation with Yoshioka. "Woah, easy with the merchandise. My mom got me this." He turns around and comes to face a shorter male with rectangle-framed glasses and blue hair. Strangely, Yoshioka notes, he's also carrying a silver briefcase. "Oi! Jin, I've been looking for you. Where've you been hiding?"

"I haven't been hiding anywhere, idiot," Jin replies. "I've been waiting for you for over twenty minutes. Now I'm behind schedule." He briefly turns his gaze to the female Hiyu's been talking to, which causes her to fall back slightly in discomfort. "Quit wasting time."

Rather than being insulted, Hiyu just chuckles at his friend's crass words. "Relax, Jin! Enjoy life."

"I'd rather seize it." Scoffing, Jin walks off.

Once he's gone, Yoshioka raises an eyebrow and shakes her head. "You guys are friends…?"

"He's—"

"Kinda hard to get along with," she finishes, and they both share a grin. "You're pulled in by the troublesome ones… I'm impressed and sympathetic."

Hiyu bows deeply in jest. "They do call me a saint sometimes."

She steals a glance at the white watch strapped around her wrist and elicits a dramatic sigh. "Well, I'm gonna call up a friend and ask if she wants to make my day a little better. Good luck with your moody and troublesome friends." Yoshioka throws him a faux salute as she leaves the mall.

"Sayonara," he says, and then searches for Jin.

* * *

Kiristugu Hiragana should be at home in the comfort of him room, drinking pop and completing another mission on Innocent Sin Online, but his parents are convinced that he's going to shrivel up if he doesn't go out. After more or less being kicked out, with only his sketch pad and some money to keep him entertained for the rest of the day, he does what any reclusive teen would do in this circumstance: he goes to an internet café.

Honestly, it's not as though he dislikes people; he's more intimidated by them than anything else. The people of Tatsumi Port Island are a very _strange_ mix, and it's difficult to find the right people to fit in even when you're born into it. He's more or less lived here his entire life and he has yet to experience that sense of belonging with any group. Kiristugu doesn't really choose to be alone, but it's just easier.

The dark-haired male takes a seat in his usual corner of the café and orders a Coke along with a slice of chocolate cake. He sips and takes bites as he sketches faces of some of the other customers around him.

He lifts his head out of instinct when the front door's bell chimes. Usually he just goes right back to whatever he's doing, but the person he sees keeps his attention: Mitsuru Kirijo, the Student Council president of Gekkoukan High (among other things). She isn't alone, however; beside her is a cheerful-looking male with shaggy platinum blond hair. The reason why he's so captivated by her presence is the fact that he's never seen her in here before, and that's a big deal because Kiristugu sends most of his free time here (when his parents don't let him stay home).

"You were right Murakumo," Mitsuru says. "This is a very quaint shop. To think that I've passed by here so many times without once stopping in. What is your recommendation?"

Ryuu Murakumo gestures to one of the free tables near the entrance. "We should probably sit down first."

Her face flushes, which seems uncharacteristic considering her usual confidence. "Oh, right, of course." Before they can even sit down, another customer draws their attention by calling out her name. She turns to the well-dressed teenager — who Kiristugu identifies as a frequent patron of Chagall — with both eyebrows raised. "Hello," she greets with obvious caution. "Ah, you're Phil Luciano, correct? You're in my class."

Phil tips his fedora at her. "Indeed. It's a pleasure to know you remember me."

Her lips tilt upwards, though there's a sense of discomfort behind the smile. "I try my best to remember the names of my classmates, especially since we're seniors now. This last stretch is important for all of us."

"That's right… Even the daughter of a prestigious company must be concerned about her grades and outward appearance." He chuckles hollowly. "Rather, _especially_ the daughter of a prestigious company."

She conceals her anger well, but her eyes are ablaze. "Excuse me?"

Ryuu, sensing danger, nudges himself between the two to put some distance between them. His carefree image has been replaced with protective aggression, his purple eyes narrowed in suspicion towards Phil. "What's your problem?" he asked. "We just came here to have some fun during the break."

Phil smirks, but there's no humor or amusement behind it. "I didn't realize it was so easy to have fun with all that baggage on your shoulders,_ Signorina_ Kirijo." Mitsuru is struck speechless; when Ryuu glances at her, he's surprised to see that her face has blanched. Phil stands up, which has Ryuu shuffling backwards and shielding Mitsuru more fully, but all he does is put some money on the table and bow deeply (_mockingly_). As he walks past, he stops briefly beside Mitsuru, then suavely exits the café.

Ryuu faces Mitsuru, who looks like she's been slapped. "Senpai…?"

"I-I don't know if I'm particularly in the mood for tea anymore," she says, her voice catching in her throat. "I'm very sorry, Murakumo, but I'm going to have to ask for a rain check." She leaves, and a confused and worried Ryuu rushes after her.

After the whole fiasco, Kiristugu still remains in his comfortable little corner. He's a bit confused, though. Kiristugu's always had good ears and hearing, so even if Ryuu — who was right there — couldn't hear, he could. He doesn't understand what the words mean.

_"My family is never let our people die for its advancement. Can you say the same for yours?"_

* * *

_Today is Children's Day… It's the last day of Golden Week._

He dribbles the ball down the court, dodges the defenders, swivels around the final guard, pulls in for the lay up and — he makes the basket!

"Gooooal." Sitting off to the side with a book balanced on her knees and a husky pup at her side, Shiori Kobayashi raises a red flag and waves it in faux celebration.

After retrieving the basketball, Akio joins his sister with a soft laugh. "Wrong sport, but close enough." He takes a seat on the ground, which feels cool against his warm skin, and affectionately pets the dog. "It sucks that the weekend's already over," he says as he picks up his water bottle. "I was really enjoying the time off… And I bet Duran was really happy to have us around for so long, right, boy?" The husky yips and runs around excitedly.

"Well, school waits for no one. It would be nice to have a longer break, but…" Sighing, she closes the book and leans back to stretch out her limbs. She's been cooped up inside for most of Golden Week because of a cough, but she managed to convince Kanzeon to let her out for this last day. Shiori really does appreciate how well-meaning and thoughtful everyone is, but she wishes they'd stop fretting over her health so much; she's not a child and she can take care of herself.

"You have that look on your face again," Akio says, drawing her out of her thoughts.

"What look?"

"The one that says you're pissed off."

Before she can deny it, Akio stands up abruptly; she realizes why when two people appear. "Yeah, and I tried to tell her that I'm definitely _not _interested…" The girl in pink trails off when she notices Shiori and Akio, but she quickly recognizes the former. "Shiori! Hey, what are you doing here?"

"Just watching my brother play basketball," she answers good-naturedly. "What about you?"

"We're supposed to be meeting a friend here…" Yukari glances at the girl she's with, who Shiori doesn't know. The girl is petite, with sandy-colored hair, a red jacket, and a yellow knit scarf. "Oh, this is Ami Sumeragi. She's a year below us. Ami, this is Shiori Kobayashi and her older brother Akio." She nods towards the male, who bobs his head in acknowledgement. "We're going shopping later if you wanna join us."

"It's a little early, but summer is coming, so we were gonna see if anything's out yet," Ami chimes in, wearing a thousand-watt smile.

Shiori hesitates. She'd been hoping to finish up this book today, but more than that she promised Akio that they could spend the day together. Akio senses her reluctance before it even shows on her face, and he pats her shoulder reassuringly. "Why don't you go with them? You've technically been with me for all of Golden Week anyway." He shifts his attention to Yukari and Ami. "Take care of her, yeah?"

"Of course!" Yukari says. She helps Shiori onto her feet, then loops her arms through both hers and Ami's. "We'll make sure she gets home safely! C'mon, Shiori."

Shiori throws a worried glance over her shoulder at her brother, but he merely waves goodbye. Once they're gone, he pulls Duran closer and ruffles his fur affectionately. "Yukari Takeba," he murmurs. "She's with the Kirijo group." Duran whines and nuzzles Akio, as though understanding the conflict running through his mind. "Mmm, thanks boy. I guess everything seems fine for now."

* * *

The end of Golden Week is finally here, and all Minato wants to do is crawl into his bed and fall asleep for at least fifteen hours. On Constitution Day, Yukari and Junpei took him literally all around Tatsumi Port Island until every nook and cranny was etched into his memory. On Greenery Day, he went to see a movie with Chihiro, who was stuttering so badly and was so intent on looking at her feet that he might as well have spent the day alone. Today, Yoshioka demanded that he keep her company because "Hayato-senpai sucks and ruined Golden Week" (whatever that means). He falls back onto the couch, absolutely spent.

"You're lookin' a little worse for wear." Minato opens his eyes and sees Benjiro and Junpei standing over him, both grinning sympathetically (though Junpei's looks more amused). "Sorry we abandoned ya with Yoshi today, but natural selection, ya know?"

He's too exhausted to even try to think up a response to that.

"Poor guy," Junpei sighs. "Unprepared for the chaos that is Tatsumi Port Island."

Shadows, Personae, crazy girls, moody guys — his aunt had never warned him about this.

* * *

_Closing Song:_ "It's Time" - Imagine Dragons

* * *

sORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG. I'm getting really bad at updating on a regular schedule, haha.

Anyway, I'm still deciding on pairings, but I'll get a clearer idea of who's gonna end up with who after I make the final cut of OCs, I think.

Thanks for always supporting meeee! :)

**New OCs that appeared in this chapter:**

Jared Frederick (Lazyboredom)

Kiristugu Hiragana (Mzr90)

**xx, **der kapitan


	8. shadow boogie

Author's Note:

Hey guys! Sorry for such a long wait; I haven't had much inspiration for this story, and writing hasn't really been a priority as of late. Still, I do hope you enjoy this chapter and continue to read this. :) I'm still making adjustments to the chapters, but they're very small. If I make any big changes, I'll be sure to let you all know.

* * *

**L'Effet Papillon  
**"The Butterfly Effect"  
a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

Chapter Seven  
Shadow Boogie

_I will burn my dread  
__I once ran away from the god of fear  
__and he chained me to despair_

* * *

It's already May, which means that Minato's been living on Tatsumi Port Island for a month now. Time has passed so quickly, but he doesn't feel as though he's done very much. (Aside from the whole shooting himself in the head to kill ink blot creatures thing.) He does fairly well in school, which is surprising considering how often he naps through lecture, and spends his extra time with his classmates and people in the city. Mitsuru's been getting on his case about not spending enough time in Tartarus, but Yukari's been studying, Junpei got whatever Ryuu had, and the only one who actually wants to go is Akihiko. Besides, it's not like they're in any immediate danger or anything, right?

"It's kind of weird," Yoshioka says, "and creepy."

Minato, who'd been zoning out, turns to her curiously. "What's weird and creepy?"

She gives him an exasperated look, even if she's grown used to his inattentiveness. "The people around the city who just stand there like zombies. They're everywhere now, and it creeps me out." She raises an eyebrow at him, then grins coyly as she nudges him. "You know, they kind of look like you. Gazing off into the distance with a far away look, bodies here on earth but their minds elsewhere, far away."

"That was a very poetic way to insult someone," Yukari comments, laughing.

"What? It wasn't an insult!" Yoshioka protests.

Junpei deadpans. "Uh, you basically just called him a zombie."

She waves them all off, flicking her wrist dismissively. "Whatever. The topic at hand isn't whether or not Minato's a zombie. The topic is about how those people make weird moaning noises, creep me out, and make it very difficult to enjoy my expensive Chagall coffee."

"There are so many things wrong in that one sentence…"

"A lot more of the Lost are popping up," Yukari says quietly to Minato, while Junpei and Yoshioka are busy arguing with each other. "I was talking to Akhiko-senpai and Mitsuru-senpai earlier, and they said that this probably means something big is going to happen."

"Something big?" he asks.

Yukari nods. "Yeah. I mean, it's not normal for Shadows to wander outside Tartarus, you know, but there was that big one last month. Mitsuru-senpai said that she wouldn't doubt another one of those showing up." A visible shudder runs up her spine and Minato doesn't blame her; even if he acted calmly, he still remembers the rush and the nerves. "Do you think we might have to fight one of those again?"

"Maybe." Honestly, Minato doesn't know. He's been dubbed the leader of SEES, and he leads these rag tag groups into Tartarus to fight Shadows, but he's still as in the dark as anyone else. Being in a position of leadership doesn't give him anymore insight to the situation, and it is a little frustrating. If anyone knows anything, it's Mitsuru — and she hasn't been very forward with information. He can shoot himself in the head with a fake gun over and over again with no problem, but he's no closer to finding the real question or the solution.

"I think I can do it this time, if it does happen," Yukari murmurs, probably more to herself than to him. "I'll be ready."

Minato's noticed Yukari's increased efforts. She wants to prove herself strong, even if no one blames her for what happened on the rooftop. No one was expecting that attack and they'd been taken off guard. Still it's obvious that the incident bothers her, and sometimes she'll try to persuade everyone to stay longer in Tartarus for training. Junpei definitely doesn't appreciate it, especially when he's huffing and puffing because of a cold, but Minato's impressed.

"Well, I'm counting on you, then," he says.

Yukari jumps, just realizing that she's been talking out loud to herself. Her cheeks turn red, but she still smiles. "Yeah, I won't let you down."

* * *

The moon is full the following night. At Mitsuru's request, everyone in the dorm canceled their plans and stayed inside. While the underclassmen chat and try to keep themselves entertained on the first floor lounge, the upperclassmen fill the meeting room on the fourth floor. The redhead sits in front of the large monitor with a pair of headphones hanging uselessly around her neck. Her shoulders slump as she sighs.

Akihiko stands up from his seat on the couch and walks over to her. "You're still at it?"

"Yeah," she answers. "You never know when the enemy might appear."

"But, I thought you couldn't scan outside of Tartarus?"

"To be honest, I lack the power…" She runs her fingers through her hair nervously. "Maybe this is the best Panthesilea can do in terms of data gathering. Although, the power of Persona seems to be much broader than I thought." Her eyes light up as she forces a small smile. "We've even got someone who can switch Personas in the middle of battle. There's something special about his ability. It hasn't been that long since his awakening, either."

"I have to admit, I was surprised too. But in the end, it's up to Minato whether or not he can reach his full potential."

"I agree," Mitsuru says as she pulls the headphones onto her ears. "He doesn't seem to be of the particularly motivated sort…"

"I think that just has something to do with his natural disposition," Akihiko says. "He likes to sleep and he enjoys his rest. Who can really blame him? Besides, I think that calmness allows him to really think in tough situations. It's still hard to believe that he took on that large Shadow by himself…"

_BEEP. BEEP. BEEP._

Akihiko yelps as he throws himself off the panel, looking around for signs of danger as the alarm goes off and the lights above them flash red. "What's going on!?"

"It's a Shadow," Mitsuru replies, her brow furrowing.

"What!? You actually found one!?"

"Wait," she says, holding a hand up to silence him, "something's not right. The reading is too big. We've never encountered anything like—"

"It's one of those…?"

"… It must be," she answers calmly.

"I'll go get the others," he says. Three minutes after she disappears through the door, he returns with five frantic underclassmen.

"We're here!" Yukari announces, out of breath.

While Yukari looks like she's on the edge of a nervous breakdown, Junpei is already waving his sword around like he's ready to bat. "Where is it!? I'll rip it a new one!"

"We've detected a Shadow outside of Tartarus. We don't know for sure, but we think it's another big one. We have to defeat any of them we find, as quickly as possible. Most people don't know the Dark Hour exists. But, if half the city is destroyed, there will be panic. That must be avoided at all costs."

"In other words," begins an excited Junpei, "we need to kick some ass, right? Well, count me in!"

Yukari tries to hold back her look of disgust and fails. "Junpei…"

"Maybe you should calm down," Ryuu suggests, voicing what all of them are thinking. His words of warning go unheard, though, as Junpei's too busy jumping around and preparing himself for the upcoming battle. Ryuu and Yukari share a small sigh. "Well, it is nice to have so much enthusiasm…"

Mitsuru turns to Akihiko. "You stay here and wait for the Chairman."

Instantly his mouth hangs open in shock. "Wha—!? Are you kidding!? I'm going!"

"You still need to recover," she says firmly. "You'll just be a hindrance."

Ami lightly pats Akihiko on the shoulder while he silently seethes. "I'll stick behind too," she volunteers. "If you go with the four of them, that should be enough. If you need any back up, just send a call our way. I'll also keep a look out on the rest of the city to make sure there aren't any other stray Shadows wandering around."

Mitsuru nods. "Yes, thank you, Ami."

"Whatever," Akihiko grunts, still displeased with the decision. He turns his eyes to Minato, who jumps under the severity of his gaze. "I've got no choice, so you're in charge."

It's like a brick hits Junpei; he stops jumping around to both glower and gape at Akihiko. "Him again…?"

Junpei's shock goes unnoticed and/or ignored by everyone but Minato. He tries to send the capped teen an apologetic look because he knows how much Junpei wants this position, but Akihiko and Mitsuru are insistent. "I'll do my best," he says, though his attention is still focused on Junpei.

Junpei tries to come off as nonplussed as possible, which makes his displeasure all the more apparent. "Heh, looks like you're stuck playin' leader again… Sucks to be you."

Akihiko turns to Mitsuru. "You should let the four of them go first. If you're providing backup out there, you'll need time to get ready, right?"

"Wait for me in front of the station," she directs towards Minato. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Got it," says Yukari. "Let's go!"

Ryuu and Yukari are the first ones out the door, but Minato stays behind to try to talk to Junpei. Junpei barely spares him a glance, however, before he chases after the other two. Minato's shoulders drop a little, but he follows, not wanting them to wait for him. _Maybe I should talk to him later,_ he thinks.

* * *

They wait on the steps of the monorail station for what feels like hours. Yukari paces back and forth in front of the others, fiddling nervously with her hands and the hem of her cardigan. "Where is she?" she mumbles.

"She'll be here soon," Junpei says.

"There's a full moon tonight…" She stops and leans her head back so that she can take in the eerie night sky. The full moon hovers above them, almost threateningly. "But it looks even creepier during the Dark Hour…"

Ryuu's ears twitch at the sound of a low rumble in the distance. "Could that be…?"

Mitsuru arrives in an extravagant Kirijo fashion, on her motorcycle with a shiny white helmet. "Sorry to keep you waiting," she says, pulling off her helmet nonchalantly while the others (save for Ryuu) gawk at her. "Listen carefully. Tonight, I'll be providing support form here. Everything else is the same. The Shadow is currently located inside a monorail, not far from the station. To get there, you'll have to walk on the tracks."

"Are you serious?" asks Junpei. "Isn't that dangerous…?"

"Don't worry, no electronic equipment is operable during the Dark Hour, including the monorails."

His eyes linger on the expensive motorcycle. "But, your bike…"

"It's special," she says with a pleased smile. "Now, if circumstances change, I'll notify you immediately." She looks down at her belt when her transceiver beeps. "Let's get started."

Yukari stands a little straighter. "Okay."

Junpei bobs his head. "L-let's do this!"

"Murakumo," Mitsuru says. "You should know the way; I gave you the map and the directions earlier."

"Yes," he replies. "I've got it memorized."

"Good."

* * *

The sound of crackling static rings in Minato's ears before he hears Mitsuru's voice. _There's a monorail about 200 meters ahead. You have to stop the Shadows before they harm the passengers. Hurry!_

Running around in the school at night is one thing, but running along the tracks of a monorail is an entirely different brand of crazy. Minato is trying to find some answer to justify this situation, but nothing sensible surfaces. _Nothing's supposed to make sense with Shadows and the Dark Hour, I guess,_ he decides.

"That should be it up there," Ryuu says, pointing ahead to a stopped monorail. They all stop in front of it, so that they can take it in and catch their breaths. "Mitsuru-senpai, we've found it."

_The readings are definitely coming from that monorail. Proceed with caution, and stay together._

"Got it," Yukari replies confidently.

Junpei claps his hands and rubs them together greedily. "Heheh, my Persona's just beggin' to be used!"

Minato looks around briefly before he decides on the ladder. "We should go up," he says.

The party nods and Yukari begins to climb up, when suddenly she turns around and holds her free hand over her skirt. "… Don't look up," she says, trying to keep a straight face. The boys shrink away, lowering their guilty gazes and giving her time to scramble up the ladder.

"Damn, almost got caught," Junpei mutters as he goes up next.

"She can still hear you, Junpei," Ryuu whispers.

"Will you guys hurry up?" Yukari snaps. Both Junpei and Ryuu wince but hurry along anyway, and Minato finally joins them on the platform. "C'mon, let's go." The four move into the rear car, and Minato is confronted with a familiar sight: a glowing coffin standing on its side.

Junpei walks over to the coffin, gives it a playful knock with the back of his knuckles. "This poor stiff must be a passenger… He's been Transmogrified, huh… Creepy. So… Guys like him don't remember a thing, right? It's probably better that way."

While Junpei and Ryuu observe the coffin, Minato notices that Yukari's attention is elsewhere. "What's wrong?" he asks her.

"Huh…? Wait a minute," she says. "We're not at a station, but the doors are wide—" One of the doors suddenly closes, and when Junpei runs to the next one to hold open, it closes on him as well.

With a grunt, Junpei tugs and pushes on the door in vain. "Damn, it won't open! Ow, my fingers…! Will ya look at 'em!? They're all jacked up!"

_What's wrong?_ jumps in Mitsuru's voice. _What happened!?_

"Just a minor setback," Minato answers calmly.

Yukari ogles him in disbelief, at which he merely shrugs. "It looks like we're trapped inside."

_It must be the Shadow… It knows you're there. Be ready for anything! Proceed with extreme caution!_

"R-roger!"

"We should continue on," Ryuu says. Yukari looks especially hesitant, considering their lack of control on the situation, but she acquiesces because there isn't much more they can do. They proceed into the next car, which is empty save for a couple more coffins. "There aren't any Shadows here. Let's move on." They continue to move through the cars, with nothing but silence and transmogrified passengers to accompany them.

They hover in front of the next door. "It's so quiet it's creepy," Yukari comments, rubbing her arm uncomfortably.

"There isn't much we can do about it," Minato replies. Just as he opens the door, a Shadow drops down from above, throwing all of them back in surprise.

Yukari gasps loudly, but Junpei has already drawn his sword and jumped into battle. "There it is!" he shouts, swinging at the tentacled creatures. It wails in pain, but before it can fall, three more of its friends join it. "Bring it on!" He pulls out his Evoker, presses it against his temple, and summons his Persona. "Hermes! Agi!"

"Watch out, Yukari!" Ryuu attacks one of the Shadows from behind with his hidden blade, and it crumples into the ground with a pathetic cry.

"Thanks," she breathes.

Minato finishes off the final Shadow, and for a moment they all relax. The first Shadow that came out suddenly rises, though weakened considerably, and quickly shuffles towards the other door. Junpei, more driven and determined than ever, begins to follow it.

_Wait! Something's not right… The enemy is acting strangely._

"But if we don't go after it, we're gonna lose it!" Junpei protests.

_Arisato, you're in charge over there. What do you think?_

Minato hesitates to answer because he sees the fire in Junpei's eyes and he doesn't want to exacerbate the situation, but his gut feeling is telling him the contrary. He wordlessly apologizes to Junpei, then says, "We should be careful."

_I agree. It would be foolish to blindly chase after it._

Junpei turns to Minato with an accusatory gleam that legitimately startles him. "Who needs your advice!? We can beat that thing no problem!" He pauses, waiting for affirmation from either Yukari or Ryuu, but the two look more upset with him than anything. With a growl, he adjusts his hat, tightens his grip on his sword, and runs into the next car. "Hell, I'll do it myself!"

"Junpei!" Yukari gasps. "Wait!"

_Watch out! Behind you!_

Two Shadows drop down behind those remaining, ready to strike. Ryuu is quick on his feet however, and manages to take out the one closest to them with a Zio spell. "Dammit, this is just what the enemy wanted," Yukari hisses as she raises her bow and arrow to depose of the second one. It goes down quickly, dissolving into the ground. "Fricking Stupei," she grumbles as two more Shadows enter from the car behind them. "What are you thinking!?" Whether it's because her fighting skills really have improved or if it's the strength of her unadulterated rage, Yukari defeats both on her own — one with a bow and the other with a Garu spell.

Minato and Ryuu unabashedly gawk the girl turned Wonder Woman.

_We have no choice,_ says Mitsuru, snapping them out of their stupor. _You have to go after him, or you'll be picked off, one by one. From what I can tell, he's only a few cars ahead._

Yukari leads the party through the next couple of cars, shooting down Shadows and grumbling darkly under her breath. "Yeesh, remind me not to get on her bad side ever again," Ryuu whispers to Minato, who nods in agreement. Ryuu and Minato pick off the ones that fly past her or require more damage, but Yukari does well on her own. "Can you imagine what she's gonna do to Junpei once she gets her hands on him?" he asks as she shoots one arrow after the other.

She finally slows to a stop in order to catch her breath (and both are incredibly grateful because their lungs feel like they're about to burst). "Junpei's not in this car either," she sighs. "He should know it's too dangerous to go alone... Don't you think he's acting weird? Did you say something to upset him, Minato-kun?"

Minato jumps at being addressed, even if her tone isn't particularly accusing. "I-I don't think so," he replies. He'd _tried_ to talk to Junpei earlier, but the latter wouldn't have any of it.

"I guess we'll have to ask once we've caught up with him..."

The trio continue up through the cars, finding no more Shadows and only running into the upright coffins. Finally, behind one door they hear a shout. Yukari pushes the door aside and, sure enough, Junpei is fighting a number of Shadows on his own, swinging his sword and cursing. "There he is!" she gasps, preparing her bow for battle once more. "Shoot! He's surrounded...!? We've gotta help him!" They run closer to him, but the circle of Shadows around him block them off. "Junpei!"

"I've got it under control!" he gasps as he unsuccssfully swipes at one of the Shadows. "Take this, you freak of nature!" One summons a Zio spell that he barely dodges by stepping back, but his footwork is sloppy and he ends up falling onto his side. "Ack!"

"Careful!" Minato says as he presses his Evoker to his head and pulls the trigger. "Orpheus, Bash!" His Persona destroys the Shadow encroaching on Junpei, and Yukari and Ryuu follow in suit. The Shadows all eventually fall, and all that's left in the car are the heavily breathing members of SEES. "Junpei," he breathes, extending his hand to him, "are you alright?" Junpei looks at Minato's hand, as though scrutinizing it, before eventually taking it and being pulled to his feet. Minato catches a glint of failure in his eyes, but he doesn't question it — not now.

Yukari, however, isn't going to let him off the hook. "See!" she hisses, jabbing her finger at him. "That's what happens when you don't listen!" The hard expression she wears softens slightly when she spots how guilty Junpei looks. "... So, are you alright?"

"O-of course I am," he says, though he doesn't convince anyone. "I was doin' just fine..."

That manages to set her off. "Excuse me!?"

_Be careful, the four of you. I don't detect any movement, but stay alert!_

The party looks around cautiously, waiting for any sounds or sights of Shadows. Suddenly, the monorail rumbles underneath their feet and begins to move along the tracks. Junpei, still recovering from his (failed) battle with the Shadow, stumbles against one of the seats. "Whoa, what the...!? Why're we moving!?"

_It seems the monorail is under the enemy's control..._

Yukari's jaw drops. "Whaddya mean, 'it seems'!?"

Minato runs towards the window and peers out; the monorail is speeding up, and the silhouette of the city that was once far away is getting closer. It's almost like his first ride to Gekkoukan High School — with the addition of ghouls, guns, and swords.

_If we don't stop that thing, it'll crash into another train!_ Mitsuru warns.

"What!?" Yukari shrieks, tugging on Minato's collar to bring him back to the severity of the situation. "Oh, God! What are we gonna do!?"

_Calm down and listen. I sense a strong presence in the front car. That must be the one we're after. You'll have to defeat it to stop the train! You don't have much time! Run!_

"This is some messed up ride," grumbles Junpei as they take off towards the front of the monorail. They're cut off by another party of Shadows, which are easily defeated but still sap away precious time. "Damn, we keep gaining speed...!"

"We don't have any choice — we just have to keep going," Ryuu says.

When they make it to the front car, Minato feels the presence of the Shadow from the other side of the door. Whatever it is that's waiting for them is different, and much bigger, than what they've faced. It's similar to the Shadow he confronted on that first full moon. "Here it is," he says. Knowing that they can't afford to waste any more time, even if it is to prepare, Minato pushes the door open and comes face to face with his opponent.

This Shadows is much larger than the last one he fought, taking up the entire front car. Its limbs are long and stretch along the floor and walls, creating a barrier between the party and the controls that will save their lives.

"What the hell!?" Junpei yells. "Is this the friggin' boss?"

"We're in the front car," Yukari says, "it's gotta be!"

_Hurry!_ Mitsuru urges them.

Ryuu acts immediately on Mitsuru's command, rushing at the Shadow with his katana. He digs the long blade into its torso, drawing a terrible cry of pain from it. It strikes back at him with one of its extensions knocking him off his feet and flinging the katana to the other side of the car. "Gah!" Ryuu hits the ground hard, but he manages to get up on his own and pulls out his Evoker for the next attack. "Zeus! Zio!" The Shadow wails from the lightning spell, recoiling from Ryuu and the mechanical robot that threatens it.

"Good work!" Yukari shouts.

The Shadow is injured, however, but it is still strong. Moaning, it claws at Ryuu and scrapes his leg, once again forcing him to the ground. Before it can descend upon him, Yukari uses a Garu spell that knocks it back. "Thanks," Ryuu says, wincing as he shuffles backwards, away from the Shadow.

"Yeah, just be careful," she says as she heals him, then helps him up.

Time is running out and the Shadow refuses to go down without a fight. Minato looks to Junpei, who catches his gaze and nods understandingly. They both rush their opponent, swiping at it from both sides with their blades. Then, at the same time, "Agi!" The Shadow shrieks from the attack, writhing and moaning from the damage inflicted upon it.

_This is it,_ Minato thinks as he closes his eyes briefly. Orpheus hovers in his mind, but with concentration, the Persona swaps with the image of Forneus. "Bufu!" Minato shouts as he pulls the trigger, and the sea monster swoops upon the Shadow mercilessly. Finally, the Shadow falls back, grasping at the air and screaming as it disintegrates into the air.

Junpei pants, looking at the spot where the Shadow was in disbelief. "Did we make it in time...?" He turns his eyes to the window, but what he sees is the exact opposite they were working for: the monorail is still racing forward on the tracks. "What the hell!? We're still moving!"

"We're going too fast!" Yukari shrieks as she runs towards the controls. Her eyes move along the controls desperately, searching for some kind of sign that will help them out. "We have to put on the brakes or else! Oh God, oh God..." Her hands, which are sweating profusely, grasp at some of the handles and buttons, but she doesn't have the courage to pull on any of them. What if she chooses the wrong one and puts all of them in danger? Worse — what if she kills all of them?

_What are you waiting for!?_ Mitsuru demands. _There's a train up ahead!_

Ryuu hurries to Yukari's side, but his confusion and terror is just as evident as hers. "I don't know which one it is!" he shouts to Mitsuru, as though hoping she'll have the answer. There's despair in the silence that follows.

"How do we stop this thing!?" says Junpei as he stares wide-eyed at the window, where the next train is growing closer.

As Yukari screams and ducks down, Minato rushes forward and grabs the control closest to him. For a moment (though it feels like an eternity), he legitimately thinks he's dead. The screech of the wheels and the thrust of his body against the panel brings him back, along with a feeling of incredible relief. "D-did we stop?" Junpei asks from his position on the ground.

Yukari, who's still grasping at the panel, pokes her head up to look out the window; the other train is literally yards away from them. "I-I think so..."

_Is everybody alright!?_

"Uh, y-yeah, we're okay." Yukari blinks, then starts laughing, probably hysterical. "Ha, haa... Oh gosh, my knees are shaking..."

"Dude," says Junpei, "I'm like drenched in sweat..." Ryuu, a little green in the face, slides down against the wall and wordlessly buries his face in his knees. Sympathetically, Junpei pats him on the back. "You and me both, man. You and me both."

Mitsuru sighs over the transceiver. _I'm so glad you're safe... I'm sorry I couldn't do more on my end. I don't detect any more Shadows. You guys did a great job, so come on home._

Yukari looks up at Minato, who's hunched over the panel and looks like he wants to pass out. Part of her (some sick part) is gratified to see their calm and fearless leader not totally put together. "How did you know which one was the brake?" she asks.

"It was a lucky guess," he admits.

Junpei struggles to decide if he's impressed or just pissed off. "Are you shittin' me!? Ah, whatever... Wanna grab a bite to eat? I'm freakin' hungry."

Minato's stomach rumbles in answer, and Yukari giggles. "That's a 'yes.' Though I don't know what places are open at this time... Probably one of those really unhealthy fast food restaurants. Oh, here you guys, help me get Ryuu up..."

* * *

_Beep._ Akihiko presses the button on the control panel and an image of Mitsuru pops up on the screen. "Akihiko here."

_This is Mitsuru_, she replies, wearing a small smile. _We've successfully completed the operation. The monorail didn't sustain any noticeable damage._

"Thank you, Mitsuru," says Ikutsuki. "When I'd heard they hijacked a monorail, I feared the worst. Well done. Now, I don't have to worry about tomorrow's headlines."

_The team did a great job. They're learning quickly._

"They were amazing," Ami says.

"Still," murmurs Akihiko, "what are the Shadows up to? taking over a monorail... This is getting out of hand."

Ikutsuki pushes his glasses further up his nose as he nods. "I'll be looking into the matter."

_Does this mean it's begun?_

"Hmm... Let's not jump to any conclusions. For now, we should study their behavior for patterns or clues. We cannot afford to always for them to make the first move."

_If I had more power, things wouldn't be so difficult for the others._

"That's not your fault, Mitsuru-senpai," Ami insists. "You did the best you can."

"Exactly," Ikutsuki agrees. "Don't be so hard on yourself. You're doing fine. More importantly... Do you have anything to drink, Akihiko?"

Akihiko raises an eyebrow. "Huh...? Why do you look so tired, Ikutsuki-san? Wait... Don't tell me that bicycle outside is yours."

Ikutsuki falls against the control panel, and finally Akihiko and Ami notice the redness in his cheeks and his disheveled appearance. Out of both pity and the desire to get rid of her tea, Ami offers him the cup, which he gratefully takes. "Boy, I'm gonna be sore tomorrow," he mumbles.

* * *

_Closing Song:_ "It's Time" - Imagine Dragons

* * *

Honestly, I was planning on discontinuing this, but... I don't know, some urging from DA and my picking up the game changed my mind, ha ha. I'm not sure how frequent updates will be, but hopefully I can pick up the pace again. I'm still working on the OCs and changing up who's not still involved and whatnot, but I hope you'll still stick around.

You guys really are the best. :)

**xx, **der kapitan


	9. aces

Author's Note:

This story is undergoing some major (maybe minor?) construction while I cut out some OCs and rearrange some things. I'll let you all know for sure about any big changes, as some might affect the groups and the character dynamic. I thank you all so much for your patience and support; it's really incredible to get your reviews, especially after going on like a fourth month hiatus, haha.

* * *

**L'Effet Papillon  
**"The Butterfly Effect"  
a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

Chapter Eight  
Aces

_I will burn my dread  
__I once ran away from the god of fear  
__and he chained me to despair_

* * *

Some nights, Minato feels like a superhero. When he's running around with his friends, wielding a sword in one hand and his Evoker in the other, destroying Shadows and getting beaten up in the process, he feels extraordinary. Not extraordinary, like better than everyone else, but _high_. He knows Junpei feels the same way; he has a glint in his eye whenever they go to Tartarus and he gets to swing his sword around. It's different for Yukari and Ryuu, who grimace and trudge, and he's not sure about his upperclassman (other than Akihiko, who's probably a little too enthusiastic). Whether or not they like it isn't really the point, though — it's the fact that they're doing it. They run around Tartarus at night, supernatural and beyond what any of his classmates could understand, but during the day they're supposed to be normal students.

It's a strange transition, he thinks.

Junpei falls into his seat with a dramatic "THUMP" Monday morning, the fatigue from last Saturday's mission still heavy on his body. "Damn, I feel like my whole body's still shaking," he groans, his voice muffled by the desk he has his face pressed against. "I can't believe how crazy that was... I've never had that kinda thrill in all my life..." He raises his head to look at Minato, who's already fading in and out of a nap. "Don't you think it's been getting more exciting lately?"

"Yeah," he replies, barely acknowledging that fact that Junpei is talking to him. _Maybe I shouldn't have gone on that walk with Chihiro last night..._ After spending all of Sunday with an adamant foreign exchange student, he'd run into Chihiro on his way back to the dorm. Though he was planning on going to bed early (since his morning/afternoon nap was taken from him), Minato saw the disappointment on her face when he just opened his mouth to decline. _I hope there's another boring lecture today..._

"... saved the city. How sweet is that!?"

"Uh, awesome," Minato says, quickly searching for an appropriate answer. He stares at Junpei for a while, wondering if he realized that Minato hadn't been paying attention at all, but he looks pleased as he settles back in his seat.

His eyelids are barely open when Ekoda enters the classroom, looking as irritable as usual. "I'm sure you all remember that midterm exams start next Monday," he grunts. "If you paid attention during class and studied diligently at home, you should have no problems." He leers at the students of Class 2-E, mutters something about how useless Ms. Toriumi's class is, then smirks when his gaze lands on Junpei. "Of course, the best way to prepare for a difficult exam is to sleep through class, like Junpei here."

At the mention of his name, Junpei sits upright. "What!?" he hisses when everyone snickers at his expense. He turns to Minato for some assistance, but the leader has already passed out — while sitting straight. _Just because you can sleep like that! How's that even fair!?_

Ekoda scoffs, completely oblivious to Junpei's plight and Minato's skill. "Hmph... If you choose to neglect your duty as a student and waste your life in idleness, then be my guest. In _my_ day, society was no where near as rich and abundant as it is today...! That's why we worked so long and hard..."

Yukari glowers at Junpei, whose face starts to resemble a tomato. "This is your fault, Stupei," she hisses.

"What!? How is this _my _fault?"

"You're the reason why he's lecturing us about the old days," Yoshioka whispers from behind him, though she sounds a lot more amused than Yukari. "Maybe if you were a more diligent student, he'd lecture us about something more interesting."

Junpei deadpans. "That's messed up, Yoshi-tan. And your grades are just as bad as mine."

"As if! I ranked above you last time!"

"You were literally one rank above me!"

"Junpei! Yoshioka!" Both squeak upon being called out by Ekoda, who looks like he's trying to summon all the power he has to glare holes into them. "I understand that you're still stuck in the adolescent mindset that the world revolves around you and that everyone wants to hear what you have to say, but I can assure you that not everyone believes your words to be gems." Yoshioka's ears turn as red as Junpei's face. "If you disrupt my class one more time, especially you Junpei," (he gawks in disbelief at his incredible bad luck), "you're getting kicked out _and_ detention. I'm going to have to talk to Ms. Toriumi about her students' completely lack of discipline. I never have trouble with..."

Yukari giggles quietly at their misfortune. "Geez, you guys are embarrassing," she teases.

Junpei and Yoshioka settle with glaring at her, fearing the repercussions of speaking up again. Only five minutes into class and they have the threat of detention hanging above their heads.

Junpei enviously looks over at the completely undisturbed, sleeping Minato. _Some people have all the luck._

* * *

Minato feels wonderfully rejuvenated after his day-long nap. Granted, he remembers absolutely nothing from Ekoda's lecture and he'll probably fail that part of the mid-term, but he never cared much for classical literature anyway. As he starts to pack up to go home, a pair of eyes glare into the back of his neck. "Err..." He faces Junpei, who stares him down intently. "... Hey?" he greets lamely. Part of him wonders if Junpei's still upset about the other night. He seems okay, especially after that almost-disaster with the other train, but Minato never talked to him like he planned to.

"How do you do it, man?" Junpei asks, his eyebrows drawn together.

"Do what?"

"Get away with sleeping in the middle of class like that!" he says, throwing his hands up dramatically. "Ekoda calls me out on sleeping and not paying attention when my eye balls are wide open! And you're there catching up on your z's and he says nothing!"

Honestly, it's something that Minato's always gotten away with. He's had problems with sleeping since he was a child (_since the accident_, he corrects inwardly), so he's long since mastered the art of sleeping in class without getting caught. "Several years of practice," he answers, "and maybe some luck."

The corners of Junpei's lips droop downward. "Luck? Damn, you and your luck, man... Hey, share with the rest of us, will ya?"

Minato chuckles, but Junpei's reaction to his being dubbed leader still lingers at the back of his mind. _I should talk to him about it,_ he decides. Not just for the group dynamic, but the fact that he sees Junpei as a friend. He doesn't want work to interfere with his social life. "Hey, Junpei, about—"

"What do you mean!?" Yukari's loud whisper catches both of their attention. She stands in the back of the classroom with Yoshioka, who's trying to hush her and calm her down. Still, the brunette shakes her head adamantly, as though in disbelief. "Are you sure, Yoshi?"

Yoshioka hushes her, wearing an expression of embarrassment and despair. "Sssh, everyone can hear you! Anyway, it's not that big of a deal, right? It was just a dream, yeesh." She runs her fingers though her hair, trying to look nonchalant, but even from his desk Minato can read the nervousness in her body language. "I know you're into that fortune-telling stuff, though, so I thought maybe you could interpret dreams or something."

"I went to a fortune teller _once_," Yukari states plainly.

"Eh, that's more experience than me. Anyway, I gotta get to work, so I'll see you later."

"Oh, wait! Do you wanna study for the mid-term tomorrow?" Yoshioka grimaces. "Come on," Yukari pleads, "you know you're gonna fail the math and science part. I'll go over to your place."

She gives in with a sigh. "Yeah, yeah, you're right. My dad'll have a fit if I get in the bottom ten again..." She says goodbye to everyone, then heads out the door.

"What was all that about?" Junpei asks when Yukari joins him and Minato at their desks.

"What?" she replies, trying to feign innocence. Yukari knows it isn't working when she sees the looks exchanged between the boys. "Okay, okay..." She leans in and lowers her voice so that no one else will hear, though it just makes her look more conspicuous. "Yoshi was telling me about this dream she's been having for a while. Well, she's not sure if it's a dream, or if it's actually happening." She pauses for dramatic effect, but they're too tired/naturally oblivious to notice. Yukari sighs hopelessly. "She said that in these dreams she wakes up in the middle of the night, everything is dark—"

"Well, that's usually what happens during the night," Junpei mutters. "It gets dark."

A terrifying glare from Yukari quickly shuts him up with a squeak. Junpei decides not to push it, especially since she's probably still ticked off about his performance during the mission. "So she wakes up, everything is dark, all the electronics are turned off and everything. That's usually it, though. But I guess last Saturday she actually stood up in this dream and walked around, and there was blood oozing out of the walls and floors." That genuinely catches Junpei and Minato's attention. Yukari nods, knowing that they now understand what she's saying. "She went to go check on her brother and his wife, but she only found coffins."

"Hold on a second!" Junpei interrupts her again, but this time with serious concern. "So then Yoshi-tan—"

"Has been experiencing the Dark Hour," Minato concludes. If she hasn't been Transmogrified and the Shadows haven't attacked her yet, then she must have the potential. "But she's convinced that they're dreams?"

Yukari nods and Junpei shakes his head. "Man," Junpei says, "imagine having dreams like that every night."

"Yeah, I'm worried," Yukari murmurs. "Do you think we should talk to the senpai about it? I mean, Mitsuru-senpai will probably try to get her to join, but..." Her lips twist, the way they usually do when she mentions Mitsuru. Minato's noticed Yukari's protests towards Mitsuru's recruitment attempts, and he doubts that anyone is oblivious to her simmering contempt for the redhead. "It's probably not safe for Yoshi, either. What do you think, Minato?"

"Eh, me?" Sometimes he forgets that he's the leader, but do his decisions in these matters really weigh that much? "Uhh..." He scratches the back of his neck, unsure. It would be nice to have another member to have some more variety with the party in Tartarus, but at the same time he understands Yukari's concern. What if Yoshioka doesn't want anything to do with this messed up superhero gang? "We should at least mention it to them," he decides. "Nothing will be final, but they should know there's another person with potential."

She doesn't look convinced. "I guess..."

Once they're done packing up, they head back towards the dorm together. "You gotta admit, it'd be a lot of fun with Yoshi-tan around," Junpei comments casually as they board the train. Minato feels some unease sitting on this train, remembering Saturday night's events too clearly, and by Junpei and Yukari's body language he can tell that he isn't the only one.

"Yeah," Yukari agrees reluctantly as she grasps a pole for support. Her knuckles turn white she's clenching it so hard. "It would be, but... I don't know. I hope she doesn't join because she feels like she's being forced into it."

"Well, we don't know anything for sure," Minato says, trying to ease her worries. The prolonged dip in her brow hints that it doesn't work. "We'll talk to Mitsuru-senpai and see what she says."

When they get back to the dorm, Akihiko and Mitsuru are sitting in the lounge with their books out, probably studying for the upcoming mid-terms. "Welcome back," Mitsuru greets, raising her eyes from a complicated-looking equation to smile at them. "You're all back quite early. Getting ready to study for exams, I hope? While Shadows and Tartarus are certainly important, I don't want any of you to forget about your schoolwork."

Junpei winces and mutters something about getting better grades when studying the day before, while Minato and Yukari exchange a look. "Actually, we wanted to talk to you about something," Minato says, voicing the words that Yukari is too reluctant to say.

Akihiko raises an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"A friend of ours has been experiencing the Dark hour," he explains, in the most summarized way possible.

Mitsuru's eyes widen. "How do you know?"

Minato turns to Yukari, who fiddles with the ends of her skirt. "We were talking today, and she was saying things about dreams about coffins and blood. I mean, she says they're dreams, but I doubt it. They've been happening for a while, I guess, so that means she probably has potential, right? The Shadows haven't..." She gulps, visibily discomforted by the mental image. "Well, she's still going to school and stuff."

"She thinks they're dreams?" Akihiko asks after a moment of silence. "I mean, it definitely sounds like the Dark Hour, but..."

"But we should definitely still look into it," Mitsuru concludes. "Who is it?"

"Yoshioka Itou," says Yukari. "She's in our class."

"Very well, I'll do what I can. Thank you all for bringing this up to us." Yukari nods, but Minato can see hints of regret in her expression. "I'll try to keep you up to date on what I learn. Until then, though, you really should continue studying. The chairman is kind to those who manage to balance Tartarus and schoolwork."

* * *

Phil leans against the fence barrier on the school roof, his expression a mixture of irritation and weariness. Kanzeon sits across from him on one of the stone benches, though her dark eyes are focused entirely on the newspaper in her hands. "There have been fewer new cases of Apathy Syndrome as of the last couple of days," she recites. "Additionally, it appears as though some patients diagnosed with Apathy Syndrome have 'miraculously' been healed. It must be a result of their actions."

"Indeed," he replies, lips set in a thin line.

Kanzeon carefully folds up the newspaper and smooths it out in her lap. "It's not altogether a terrible thing if people are recovering—"

"Not altogether a terrible thing if we merely look at the details," he says, harshly cutting her off. "They certainly don't understand the greater consequences of their actions, but you do. Don't try to justify what they're—"

"I'm not justifying anything." She interrupts him this time, and though her voice is steady there is a tone of irritation behind it. "What I'm saying is that outcomes like this will give them further incentive to continue on with their mission. No, they don't know what they're doing — and I blame Kirijo for that, by the way — but seeing good coming from their actions will make them believe they're in the right. Though we know the truth and therefore understand that what they're doing isn't correct, even I have to admit that seeing the Lost recover is incredible."

Phil frowns, though he doesn't argue. He turns around so that he faces the city and folds his arms across his chest. "How the hell did they manage to get so far ahead of us?" he mutters, mostly to himself.

"They're directly supported by Kirijo. They have a stronger base than we do," she says.

After a moment of silence, he sighs and says, "It's a terrifying thing when the ignorant are given so much power. We must be prepared for the next full moon. We have been passive up until now, but it's time we directly interfere with their actions. They've already put us all in grave danger."

* * *

"Man, I'd rather be running," Kazushi groans, dropping his head against the pile of books on the table. "I already gave in. There's no way I'm gonna pass the exams, so there's no point in studying."

"Seriously, Kaz? One, you shouldn't be running at all because, um, remember your knee?" He glowers at Yuko, but she continues anyway. "Two, how is that self-defeating attitude going to get you anywhere in life? And three, if you get bad grades, you can't run anyway." She smiles, obviously pleased with herself, when he (grudgingly) opens his grammar book once more.

Minato gives his teammate a sympathetic look, but says nothing as to not invoke the wrath of Yuko. "So, how did you do on last night math homework, Kaz?" he asks.

Kazushi throws his head back with a grunt, which answers his question.

"That bad, huh? Well, maybe if we do some of the problems together..." While Kazushi rummages through his backpack to find the paper he scribbled on for homework last night, Minato's eyes dart towards the door, where a student walks in. He's seen him in the dorm a couple of times, on his way in and out, but he can't remember a name. (Did he ever actually learn his name?) The boy walks up to the front desk, where only one student worker is currently on call.

"Hey," he greets. Even from afar Minato can hear the quiver in his voice. "Ah, I mean, good afternoon, Hasegawa-senpai."

Saori Hasegawa blinks, then smiles. "Good afternoon, Jared. Are you in here to study for finals, too? It's been a lot busier this week."

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Wait, I mean, no...! I mean, I definitely need to study, but that's not what I'm in here today." Jared's ears turn a brilliant shade of pink, and while Minato sympathizes he also experiences the painful sting of secondhand embarrassment.

Saori doesn't seem to notice, though, and if she does she's doing an excellent job of covering it up. "Did you want to check up on your interlibrary loan, then? I think you put it in just recently, so it shouldn't be in for a while, but..."

"No, actually I wanted to ask you—"

At that moment, the doors to the library open (rather, slam open), effectively interrupting the conversation between Jared and Saori. Another male, who Minato recognizes as an upperclassman, waves excitedly at Saori who looks mildly confused. "Hey, Saori-san," he greets, sauntering up to the desk.

"Ryuuzaki-kun," she replies, smiling. "How can I help you?"

"Do you wanna come to karaoke with me tonight?"

Minato swears Jared's face turns ghost white.

"Huh? Oh..." Saori looks genuinely taken aback, which makes Minato and the rest of the library observers wonder how well she actually knows this guy. "Well... Sure, I guess," she answers eventually.

"Great!" he replies, oblivious to the awkward atmosphere. "I'll see you tonight, then!" He shoots her what's supposed to be an award-winning smile, then departs from the library.

Saori's smile wavers, but only slightly, before she turns to Jared apologetically. "I'm sorry about that, Jared. It was a little unexpected... Anyway, what were you saying?" Jared just shakes his head, mutters something no one can really hear, apologizes, and races out the door. Saori's brow furrows as she looks around the library, as though trying to find an answer to the incredibly confusing events that had just happened, but everyone looks just as bewildered as her.

"Well," Yuko says, once everyone goes back to their own work, "that was interesting."

"That was weird," says Kazushi.

"If it's always that exciting in the library, I need to come here more often," she continues, ignoring his statement. "Although I kind of feel bad for Jared..."

"Do you know him?" Minato asks.

She nods. "Yeah, he's in my class. He's a really nice guy, kind of bookish, doesn't really know how to talk to women."

"I see him talking to you a lot," Kazushi says, with no ill intention.

While Minato snorts and tries to contain his laughter, Yuko presses her lips together as her nostrils flare. "The only reason I'm not totally kicking your ass right now is because we're in the library," she says, deadly serious. "Remember that I'm your manager and have the power to both heal and permanantly damage you." She lets Kazushi sweat it out for a few moments before going back to her history textbook.

Kazushi lightly nudges Minato with his elbow when Yuko is distracted. "Did I say something wrong?" he asks through the corner of his mouth. "I was just saying that he talks to her, and she's a girl."

Minato chuckles at his obliviousness. "You'll figure it out, don't worry."

* * *

_It's almost midnight,_ Yoshioka thinks as she exits the corner store. She directs her glare at the pint of ice cream and jar of pickles in her shopping bag. "Who the hell craves funky monkey ice cream and pickles at eleven o' clock at night?" she mutters bitterly, dragging herself through Paulownia mall towards the train station. "Oh, that's right, pregnant women in their final trimester." She continues grumbling to herself, both out of genuine bitterness and the fact that she's a little afraid of the silence. _I've never seen the streets so dead before..._

Yoshioka loves her older brother and her (currently crazy) sister-in-law, but being used as a babysitter and messenger for strange food combinations is starting to take its toll. Daisuke works PR with President Tanaka's company, so he's busy most of the day, and Hanabi has taken maternity leave from the bakery in order to stay home full time. When she's not at school or work, Yoshioka tends to Hanabi's hysteria and terrifying mood swings. She really does love Hanabi, and she couldn't have picked anyone better to take care of her mess of a big brother, but the funky monkey and pickles is the last straw.

_I'm gonna have to talk to them about it,_ she thinks. _I'm not an errand girl, yeesh. And at freakin' night, too. Girls are attacked this late at night._ Her whips around in paranoia as her ears search for sounds of other people — but it's just her. _Mmm, I am so sick of this!_

The clock strikes twelve the moment she steps onto the platform for the train. Everything shuts down — the train, monitors, machines, and even the overhead lights. Yoshioka squeaks in both surprise and fear, nearly dropping her bag of groceries in the process. "What the hell!? When does the train stop running?" She flips her wrist to read the time, but both hands are stuck on the twelve: midnight. "Shit, shit... Are you serious?" Panicking, she digs through her pockets and purse until she pulls out her cell phone. "Ugh, Daisuke, you better answer and give me a ride home..." But no matter what she presses or how many times she takes out and reinserts the battery, her cell phone won't turn on either. Yoshioka curses loudly as she puts away the useless device. "I swear I charged it right before I left," she murmurs, trying to ignore the rapid pounding in her chest. _Shit... What am I gonna do?_

She turns around and searches for something that will get her out of this mess. "What...?" Her palms sweat and her stomach wrenches when a familiar scenario unfolds before her: a yellow moon in a green sky, coffins, red everywhere. "Oh my God," she gasps. The bag slips from her shaky grasp and falls to the ground; her ears are completely untuned to the sound of glass breaking. _This is a dream,_ she tells herself as her knees knock together. _This is a dream, this isn't happening...!_

Yoshioka takes a step back, but steps in something wet. "Dammit, what...?" When she looks down, she sees blood.

She doesn't even scream — she just runs.

Her legs and chest burn, but she doesn't stop. Fear and pure adrenaline carry her, but where? _I need to get out of here,_ she thinks as tears gather in the corners of her eyes. _I need help! This is just a dream, just a dream..._ The coffins and the blood-covered floors rush around her like an illusion, like nothing more than a terrible nightmare.

Somewhere along the way, she trips, scattered an disoriented. Sobbing, Yoshioka barely manages to sit up. "Oh my God," she gasps, her breathing becoming more erratic and labored. She clamps her eyes shut and cries, feeling more weak and defenseless than she has ever felt in her entire life.

Someone places a large hand on her shoulder, grunts a soft, "Hey." Yoshioka screams, thrashes about and tries to get away, but he's stronger and holds down her flurry of fists. "Hey, cut it out! Geez, do you do this to everyone you meet, or is it just me?"

She finally realizes that the voice is familiar. Cracking one eye open, she sees the face and the build of her assaulter/tormentor. "It's you," she says, lower lip trembling. Her skirt and socks are soiled, her shoes are scuffed, and she look worse for wear, but for once she doesn't care about her appearance. Though a feeling of safety washes over her, the fatigue and fear from earlier still have her heart racing. Desperately Yoshioka clings and tugs at Shinjiro's collar. "Oh my God, oh my God..."

Shinjiro blinks, unsure of how to really respond, but he settles with awkwardly patting her on the back. "Come on, get up. You're a mess." He pulls the shaking girl to her feet and tries to get a steady answer out of her ("Where do you live?" "What the hell were you doing out here?" "Are you insane?"), but she's too rattled to answer. He sighs as he raises a hand to his beanie. "Alright, I know where to take you. C'mon." She follows wordlessly, sticks to his side like a lost puppy. Shinjiro steals a glance at the girl, so horrified and shaken to the bone by the Dark Hour, and wonders if he's taking her to the right place.

They stop at the dorm in Iwatodai (_the one where Yukari and the others live_, she thinks), and Shinjiro pounds loudly on the door with the fist. They stay out on the steps for what feels like an eternity, with Shinjiro staring up at the sky and Yoshioka staring anywhere but.

Slowly, the door creaks open, and one gray eye searches in suspicion. When it lands on Shinjiro, the door is thrust open, revealing a flabbergasted Akihiko. His fighting gloves are on. "Shinji?" he says. "What are you doing here?"

Shinjiro says nothing, just pushes Akihiko to the side and ushers Yoshioka in by the small of her back. Everyone else in the dorm is awake as well, dressed in their pajamas and wielding their weapons. "Found her at the Port Island Station," he says, directing his words to Mitsuru.

Behind the redhead, who quickly runs up to the girl, Minato, Yukari, and Junpei exchange a look. Something in Yukari clicks, seeing the frantic yet bewildered expression on her friend's face, and her heart hangs heavy in her chest. "Poor Yoshi-tan," she hears Junpei mutter.

"What were you doing at Port Island Station?" Akihiko asks Shinjiro.

The brunet gives him a hard look. "Is that really important right now?"

"Ye—"

Mitsuru breaks through both of them in order to lead Yoshioka over to one of the couches. "Shinjiro is correct," she says, directing a glare at Akihiko. "There are more important matters right now. Yoshioka Itou, correct? Ah, perhaps we should just let you rest... Takeba, could you get some spare blankets from the closet on the second floor?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure." Feeling a little dazed herself, Yukari heads up the stairs.

"I guess she'll be joining us after all, huh?" Junpei asks Minato quietly.

"What makes you say that?" he replies.

Junpei shrugs. "It makes sense, doesn't it? I mean, she's definitely gonna know about us now. When I found out about the Dark Hour, I didn't wanna go back. I mean, there were other reasons too, but..."

Minato wants to make a comment that he and Yoshioka are two different people, but decides against it. He, who has always lived with and known the Dark Hour, who's seen it as normalcy, can't possibly understand what it's like to one day just wake up in it. It must be terrifying, he thinks as he looks over at Yoshioka, who's had the same crease in her brow since she entered the dorm. _It changes people_, he realizes. He's just different.

* * *

_Closing Song:_ "It's Time" - Imagine Dragons

* * *

Aaaand we have a new member! (Or do we?)

I'm going to shamelessly plug one of my new Persona projects, which I'm still working on. It's meant to be something like Persona 5, a continuation of 3 and 4. (It has especially strong ties to P3: FES.) I'm in search of OCs, as I only have a couple right now. Details are in the latest chapter of my story _Glass Houses_, which it's meant to be a reboot of. If you could help out, I'd really appreciate it. :)

**xx, **der kapitan


	10. rumor has it

Author's Note:

I didn't change too much, but there is one character change that's kiiind of (?) important that you might want to check out. If you've been reviewing/keeping in touch with me, you really don't need to be worried. I didn't mean to freak you guys out, haha.

Anyway, so we've hit the 100 review mark, which is super awesome! I'm doing a little award/contest thing, though it won't be coming up for a while. **Reviewers 150-165 will be randomized, and the person picked gets to choose a character they'd like to have a chapter focused on.** It can be a romantic/couple thing, or just some character insight. Again, that's not for a while, but just letting you know that it's there. :)

* * *

**L'Effet Papillon  
**"The Butterfly Effect"  
a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

Chapter Nine  
Rumor Has It

_I will burn my dread  
__I once ran away from the god of fear  
__and he chained me to despair_

* * *

Yoshioka recovers just in time for mid-term exams, and considering the fact that she's mostly been sleeping and trying to process everything, Mitsuru offers to pull some strings and get them rescheduled. Yoshioka declines despite her insistence. "Not like it matters when I take them," she mutters to Yukari once the Kirijo heiress leaves. "I'm gonna fail either way. Might as well get 'em over with now."

"I thought you said your dad was gonna kill you if you got in the bottom ten again," Yukari says.

She shrugs. "I'll just tell him I caught Apathy Syndrome or something."

Six days of testing go quickly, but not quickly enough. In between tests are study groups, the desperation to fill in study guides, and hours spent at the library trying to gain and regain knowledge. By the time it's all over, Minato & Co. feel like they're going to pass out from mental exhaustion.

"That was brutal," Junpei groans, dropping his head against the desk. "I'd rather fight my way through fifteen floors of Shadows than have to do that ever again."

Though she looks just as worn, Yukari quirks an eyebrow. "Should we prepare your grave for when finals come, then?" His only response is a loud groan.

While slowly packing up his things, Minato goes over the exam questions in his head. _"I probably should've spent more time studying instead of meeting with Tanaka and Mutatsu. Today's portion was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be..."_ He sighs, a little disappointed in himself, but knows that there's not much he can do about it now, and moping certainly won't help anyone. "By the way," he says, looking around the nearly vacant classroom, "where did Yoshi go? She left pretty quickly."

"You don't remember? They're moving her into the dorm today, so she had to run home." He does vaguely remember Akihiko saying something along those lines. "Do... Do you think Yoshi's okay with moving into the dorm? I mean, you don't think she felt pressured to join or anything, do you?"

Minato's sure it's out of genuine concern for her friend, but he also senses her distrust and suspicion of Mitsuru's motives. Honestly, he isn't completely 100% sure about the redhead's motives, as she does a good job of giving them information without actually telling them anything, but he doesn't think she's intentionally pulling the wool over their eyes. "I thought she looked pretty scared that night she came in," he says. "Which is pretty understandable. She thought the Dark Hour was a dream up until then."

Yukari bites down on her lower lip. "Yeah, but..."

"She also said that she felt unsafe. I think a lot of the reason why she agreed to move in and help out is because she wants to feel safe," he reasons. "What was it like for you, when you woke up to the Dark Hour?"

The question rattles her; he can tell by the way she shrinks back into her shoulders and how she hesitates to answer. "I was scared," she answers eventually. "I didn't know what was happening, and I thought I was dying or I was gonna die. I wanted someone to help me."

"That's probably what it's like for Yoshi. She wants help, but she can't do it on her own 'cause she doesn't know what's happening. Yeah, she'll be in danger like the rest of us, but at least she'll know how to fight back." Minato stands up and smiles as he places a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about it too much, Yukari. Besides, she has us if she really needs any help."

It's a little forced, but Yukari returns the smile. (He also thinks that she could _possibly_ be blushing, but he attributes that to his eyes going wonky because of lack of sleep.) "You're right." She abruptly turns to Junpei and punches him the arm, startling him. "Hey, let's head back to the dorm. You can sleep on the couch there, lazy." Junpei grunts and grumbles, but he tumbles out of his desk and drags himself along Minato and Yukari like a zombie. As they board the train to Iwatodai, she turns to him with an incredulous look. "Did mid-terms really kill you that badly? I mean, they were hard, but..."

"Exams don't affect you the same way they get me, Yuka-tan," he replies, resting his head against the cold window. "It's like... Like when Shadows throw out their wind spells! They hit you a little, but you're fine; they hit me and I'm down and out."

Yukari giggles at the analogy, while Minato does his best to hide his amused smile. "We'll just have to study harder when finals come around," Minato says. "Maybe we shouldn't have gone to Tartarus as much as we did... Those trips probably shouldn't count as study breaks."

Junpei groans. "Naw, man, don't do that! Goin' to Tartarus was like the beacon of light at the end of the tunnel for me. It's the only thing that gets me through dead week and exam week!"

"That's saying something," Yukari murmurs. "Anyway, the weather's definitely warming up, which means we'll be able to wear our summer uniforms soon. The cold usually gets me down and keeps me inside, so I'm excited to finally be able to spend some time outside... Though I hear the heat wave this year is supposed to be brutal. Ugh, which one is worse: over the top heat or frigid cold?"

"Dude, if it's as hot as it was last year, I'd rather stick with the frigid cold," says Junpei. "I was so sweaty my clothes were stickin' to me."

"Ew, Junpei."

"What? I'm just sayin'..."

While the two bicker behind him (a frequent occurrence, he realizes), Minato scans the crowd in the train. It's mostly filled with students heading home, though there are a couple businessmen on the phone and mothers with their children. His gaze eventually falls on a familiar, small figure standing in front of the closed doors. "Ami!" he shouts, raising his voice in order to catch her attention.

She looks around, unsure if she really heard her name or not, when she catches Minato smiling in greeting at her. "Oh, Senpai!" She nudges through the crowd with some difficulty, apologizing every time she accidentally elbows someone or steps on their toe, before joining the second years of 2-F. "I never see you on the train ride back to the dorm! How are all of you?"

"Good," answer Yukari and Minato. Junpei doesn't even try, just grunts.

"Exams were hard, huh?" she asks, smiling sympathetically. "I might have missed a couple of questions on today's exam, but hopefully I did well. Oh, by the way, Minato-senpai, thank you for studying with me last week! It answered a lot of things I was unsure of, and I'm pretty sure I got all those questions right!"

The way she beams at him, like he's some kind of savior, almost makes him blush. "Ah, no problem," he responds, as cooly as he can.

"Leader against the Shadows, track star, musician, student council member, and now tutor? Is there anything you can't do?" Yukari teases.

"I'm not good at cooking," he says, completely serious.

Ami claps her hands together excitedly. "Then maybe I can pay you back by giving you a cooking lesson," she says, dark brown eyes shining enthusiastically. "I mean, we'd have to go shopping in order to get some supplies — we're running low on some things right now — but it'd be so much fun!"

Minato bobs his head as he smiles. "Yeah, that would be fun." Then he bows, which results in Ami's face turning bright red. "I leave myself in your care, Sensei."

"P-please, Senpai...!"

The train rolls to a stop, signaling everyone to file off or get carted around Tatsumi Port Island again. Junpei fights through the hoard of people (having been part of the latter description several times due to inattention), while the others trail behind him carefully. "By the way," Junpei says once everyone's off and the crowd has dispersed in different directions, "I heard Akihiko-senpai's going to see the doctor today. If he gets the okay, then he can start fighting again and come with us to Tartarus."

"That would be nice," Yukari muses. "Just to have another person with some experience. I bet he's really dependable in battle."

"He spends most of his free time practicing his boxing, so he trains in and out of Tartarus," says Ami. "I've never seen him fight, so I can't say for sure, but... I feel like Akihiko-senpai is someone we can definitely feel safe with."

As they approach the dorm, they can see a number of cardboard boxes and suitcases sitting outside the doors. Yoshioka, who still looks pretty frazzled from the mid-terms, points to a couple and shouts something to the men moving her in. Upon closer inspection, the men are just Akihiko and Ryuu; the way they're struggling with the boxes tells them that she probably brought everything from her home with her. Suddenly, Junpei makes a grab for Minato's arm. "We can still get out of this, man," he whispers urgently. "She hasn't seen us yet. We can get away and we won't have to be her pack mules—"

"Oi! Junpei! Cutie!"

"Aw crap."

The next thirty minutes are spent dragging Yoshioka's belongings into her third floor bedroom ("Why the hell isn't there an elevator in this place?" Junpei hisses when Yukari accidentally drops one box on his foot) and getting her settled in. They all collapse in and outside of Yoshioka's room when it's all done, while she cheerfully takes a seat on her yellow bean bag chair. "Thanks for helping, you guys!" she says.

"Helping?" Ryuu wheezes, from just outside her door. "We did all the work! You just yelled at us for thirty minutes..."

"Yelling burns calories," she says wisely.

Ryuu attempts to glare at her, but he can barely lift his head, so he settles with staring holes into the carpet. Akihiko is the only one (other than Yoshioka) who doesn't look the least bit tired. In fact, the more Minato looks at him, the more he thinks Akihiko is actually _glowing_ from the workout. "I've got some stuff I need to finish up, so I'll see you guys later tonight." He walks off, but with a noticeable skip in his step.

"Why is he so happy?" Junpei growls, like Akihiko has committed a first-degree crime.

"Mitsuru-senpai told me he got good news back from the doctor," Ryuu says, his voice muffled by the carpet.

Yukari sits upright on Yoshioka's bed, her eyes wide. "So he's coming with us to Tartarus, then?"

"Probably. We'll find out tonight, I guess."

The underclassmen spend the rest of their time until dinner in Yoshioka's room, going through her chest of tea and coffee bags, shelf of classic literature, and DVDs of old American sitcoms. Junpei curiously nudges open a large box that she keeps hidden under her bed; Yoshioka is on him like a tiger, tackling him to the ground and closing the box all in one motion. "Stay away from there!" she shrieks, pink in the face and wild in the eyes.

"Okay, okay, okay!" Junpei replies, trying to get her hands away from his face. When she clambers off of him and makes sure that the box is safely hidden amongst her other junk, he turns to Minato and whispers, "I guess girls have that kind of thing under their bed too." Fortunately for him, Yoshioka doesn't hear; unfortunately for him, Yukari does, and she delivers a swift thwack to the back of his head. "Ow!"

Dinner mostly consists of instant ramen and leftover bento boxes. "Geez, you weren't kidding when you said we were out of everything," Yukari says, sighing as she waits for her ramen to finish. "We're gonna have to go grocery shopping sometime this week..."

"No kidding," Yoshioka murmurs as she pokes her head into the cupboard, which is stacked from top to bottom with ramen. "Do you guys live off this stuff?"

"It's cheap and it's food," Junpei says, like it's the most obvious answer in the world. And for high school students, it is.

When Akihiko walks in, everyone greets him with congratulations. "Senpai, I hear you're fully healed!" says Yukari.

"Yeah, congrats, man!" says Junpei.

Akihiko smiles and nods. "I need to catch up on my training. I've slacked off for a whole month."

"Shouldn't you take it easy, though?" Yukari asks, eyeing him dubiously. He's lucky Mitsuru isn't there, otherwise he'd definitely be getting an earful. "You don't wanna reinjure your arm or ribs."

"I've already wasted precious time. Besides, we found another Persona-user." His eyes travel over to Yoshioka, who's filling up her ramen bowl with hot water. "In addition to the one we just received."

Ryuu blinks in surprise. "Wow, the team's really growing."

While the prospect of another Persona-user and the growth of their team is exciting, Junpei is much more concerened with other matters. More important matters. "We did!? Sweet!" He hesitates for a moment before asking, "Is it a girl...?"

The corner of Akihiko's lips twitches in amusement. "Actually, it is. She's a junior who goes to our school. Fuuka Yamagishi.. Do you guys know her?"

"Oh, she's in my class," Ryuu says. "But... She gets sick a lot, and I haven't seen her in class lately. To be honest, I don't know her very well."

"She was at the same hospital as me. That's how we found out about her. But, maybe she's not cut out for battle." Akihiko sighs, already lamenting the loss of someone they never had. "I had an Evoker made for her, but..."

Even if everyone else has given up, Junpei is not one to back down (especially when it comes to cute, Persona-wielding girls). "What!? We're giving up on her already!? I was gonna offer hers ome private lessons..."

The room quiets down at his statement, with the guys lowering their heads ("I can't help you here," Minato whispers) and the girls looking at him with mild disgust. Even Ami can't contain her look of disdain. Eventually, Yoshioka breaks the silence with an oddly chipper, "You're a perv, Junpei."

"C'mon," he says, sinking down into his seat in embarrassment. "I'm a guy. Whatddya expect...!?"

* * *

Minato wipes the sweat off his forehead with the back of his arm once he finishes putting away the stands in the music room. "Is that all we need to do?" he asks, turning to Ami.

She bobs her head as she checks off the final box on the page. "Yes, that should be it for clean-up. Thank you, all of you, for staying back and helping! I don't know where the rest of the first years are..." She shakes her head, reminds herself to talk to them at the next club meeting, then goes to hang up the clipboard. "Practice went pretty well today. Shiori's really good on the piano, don't you think?"

"That would explain why she got piano for the next recital," Yoshioka mutters, doing nothing to cover up her bitterness.

Ami laughs nervously, having forgotten her upperclassman's sensitivity to the issue. "Well… You get to play cello at the next recital! That's exciting, isn't it?"

"I'm the only cello player in the club," she replies, deadpan.

"Yes, that's true, but… You're still a wonderful musician." That seems to satisfy Yoshioka enough. "Keisuke-senpai spent a lot of time trying to come up with a line-up for the recital. It's been stressing him out, I think. I mean, more than usual."

"By the way," Yoshioka says as she puts away her sheet music, "do you guys know what's up with Keisuke-senpai? He's been super stressed lately, which is really unlike him. Usually he just wears that goofy smile and makes sure everyone is taking their vitamins."

"Umm, I know he's being pressured by his parents to go to medical school," Ami murmurs. "So it's a little more difficult for him to devote time to Music Club. Do you know anything, Minato-senpai?"

It's true that Minato's acquainted with the club president, but there's not much more that he knows that Ami hasn't already said. "No. It's probably just hard for him because they're making him pick or something. Whatever it is, we just need to be here for him if he needs us." Ami bobs her head in agreement. "Anyway, since we're done here do you guys wanna head back to the dorm?"

They stop by Paulownia Mall before going back, mostly because Yoshioka is complaining about caffeine withdrawal. Before they can go into Chagall Café, Minato is distracted by the neon lights and, most importantly, the free samples outside of Otaku's Paradise. "It's free," Minato insists, dragging a reluctant Yoshioka away from the doors of the café.

Makiko, as usual, greets him with an enthusiastic grin. "Oh, hello, Minato-kun! It's been a while since I've seen you." Her dark green gaze drifts to Ami and Yoshioka, who are cooing over the sweets on the table. "We're giving out free samples to show off our new menu," she says. "A lot of it is French because I've been getting some help from Bebe. Do you know him?"

"Yeah, I met him when I was at Bookworm," Minato says as he picks up a chocolate-filled croissant.

"Isn't he the sweetest?" she gushes. Sweet isn't the first term to pop into his mind when he recalls the eccentric foreign exchange student, but he does seem nice enough. Minato makes a mental reminder to visit the fashion club at some point or another as a he takes a bite out of the pastry. "By the way, Minato-kun," she begins, in a more solemn tone, "did you hear that the number of victims of Apathy Syndrome are on the rise again? Apparently, the decline was only temporary."

"Yeah, I think Mitsuru-senpai mentioned something about it." The rise in victims means that their journey is far from over. It does make him wonder, though, how many Shadows he has to kill before things go back to normal — if things ever can go back to normal. Granted, doing something is better than doing nothing, but by how much?

"Be careful," she says, placing a hand on his arm.

He blinks. "Huh?"

"Strange things have been happening lately, and I'm afraid you might get hurt," she says. "I know you're pretty popular at school, so it probably won't happen to you, but I also heard that bullying's been pretty bad at school lately. The teachers keep insisting otherwise, but the students are saying otherwise." Makiko is used to being teased (it comes with the bright wigs and her affinity for costly), but if she can help in any way, she will. High schoolers are cruel, but no one should be subjected to bullying because it's the norm. "If you have any problems or need to talk, I'm here."

Minato senses the concern behind her words, and he smiles gratefully. "Yeah, thanks, Makiko."

Her grin makes her eyes sparkle. "Of course, Minato-kun!"

"I think the lemon ones are my favorite," Yoshioka murmurs.

"Really?" Ami asks. "I really like the strawberry… Do you wanna switch?"

"Ooh, yeah, deal."

Minato chuckles as he grasps both girls by the elbows before they can steal anymore samples. (Though, at this point, there's only half of what was originally there.) "I'm gonna take them home before you run out. I'll see you around, Makiko."

She's too stunned by how quickly two (small) girls ate all of her snacks to respond immediately. "O-oh, right. Have a safe trip back! I should probably go get some more before I'm out…"

"You said they were free," Yoshioka says when Minato gives her a pointed look. "Besides, they're like little pieces of heaven in your mouth. Watch, say 'aahhh'!" He opens his mouth to protest, which gives her the opportunity to promptly shove a raspberry tart between his lips. "Heaven, right?"

"Hm, you're right, that is pretty good," he acquiesces after chewing on the tart. "We should buy some and bring them back to the dorm."

"Good idea!" Ami agrees. "We can use them to celebrate?"

"Celebrate what?"

She taps her chin thoughtfully. "Well, Yoshi-senpai's joined the team and Akihiko-senpai recovered, so I definitely think those are things to celebrate. Oh, and we might have another Persona-user. The reasons to celebrate are endless!"

* * *

"Ha ha ha ha!"

"So, I pretended to take a picture with my cell phone."

"And?"

"She _freaked out_ and started crying. Like it was the end of the world! You should've seen the look on her face… It was priceless!"

"Oh my God!"

"I've never laughed so hard in all my life!"

Hiyu looks up from his book to glare at the laughing girls underneath the archway. They're so wrapped up in their conversation, however, that they fail to notice him completely. (The fact that he's basically hidden underneath the shade and leaves of the persimmon tree probably don't help either.) "Seriously," he mumbles as he tries to focus on the words on the page, "what does a guy have to do to get some peace and quiet around here?"

"Huh…? Where's that voice coming from…?"

"What voice? I don't hear anything."

He lifts his head again upon hearing the latest part of the conversation. One of the girls, the one with blunt bangs and high pigtails, wears an expression of mild fear, while the other is concerned. He notices another girl in the archway, though she's towards the end and looks disgusted; perhaps she overheard what they were talking about? _"Wait,"_ he thinks, squinting to get a better look at the female in pink, _"isn't that Yukari Takeba?"_ She mutters something to herself, shakes her head, and heads into the building through the double doors. "Hm…"

"What's wrong, Maki? Maki!"

"… Huh?"

"Are you okay!?"

"Sorry… What were we talking about?"

Hiyu stands up and dusts any stray leaves off his trench coat, then proceeds into the archway. The girls immediately stop talking, surprised to see him (and his trench coat, considering the warm weather), until he follows Yukari in suit, back into the building. "Bullying, huh?" he asks, looking over his shoulder at the girls through the window. "What a shame."

* * *

Shuya fidgets with the sleeves of his new winter uniform, as well as the black beanie concealing his headset. Though the clothing doesn't itch or feel uncomfortable, he can't help but recognize that he stands out from everyone else wearing their summer uniforms. Already he's received plenty of questionable glances and stares. "How do I look?" he asks.

"Fine," Sasaki grunts. He turns to the side and folds his arms across his chest. "Seriously, Phil, what the hell are you thinking? Sending this guy to school…" He glances at the robot, who's tended to by Shiori and Kanzeon. "It's like he wants everyone to figure out that something's up."

"You're worrying too much," Kanzeon replies as she fondly pulls Shuya's beanie down further. "No one should suspect anything, so long as we play it cool." She takes a step back to admire Shuya in the Gekkoukan uniform, thinks that he _might_ look a little toasty underneath all those layers, but overall is pleased with the final product. "Besides, people should be worrying about themselves rather than their classmate's appearance. You look wonderful, Shuya."

He smiles. "I see. Thank you."

"We should probably head to class," Shiori advises.

Sasaki jams his thumbs into the pockets of his pants and heads up the stairs. "Yeah, yeah, let's get goin'…"

"I understand that my primary function here is to gather information," Shuya states as they follow. "Early this morning I overheard students discussing the discovery of a second year student in front of school grounds today. A girl from class 2-E went missing yesterday night, and when they found her this morning she was unconscious. Currently, nobody knows what occurred or how she came to be in front of the gate, but she still has yet to recover. Students are suspecting the involvement of phantoms."

Shiori's eyebrows raise in surprise. "Ghosts, really? Well, everyone does look pretty spooked… People have been on edge lately because of the bullying allegations, too. Still, the rumors that circulate around this school are pretty incredible."

"Rumors or not, we should try to investigate and gather as much information as possible," says Kanzeon. "I've always believed that behind every myth, there's a bit of truth. Perhaps we'll discover something that will help us in the long run. Phil is getting particularly antsy, what with SEES's movement."

"That guy just has a perpetual stick up his ass," Sasaki grunts.

Shiori barely manages to contain her snicker. "True, but I think he has good reason to worry. They have been getting pretty far."

"So hunting down rumors and ghosts is gonna put us ahead of them?" Sasaki asks, scoffing. "Whatever, I'll leave that to you guys and the information gatherer. I'm practically deaf anyway, so I won't be any help to you."

Kanzeon gives him a hard look that he barely manages to deflect. Despite taking up the motherly role in the group, she can be a hard ass. "It would be a lot easier if it was a team effort," she says, sickly sweet despite her glare. "Don't you agree, Shiori?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah…" She noticed the grimace on Sasaki's face and leer on Kanzeon's, and knows better than arguing the dark-haired female. "Yeah, definitely."

"Whatever," Sasaki mumbles, giving in without much of a fight.

Kanzeon, who always does well to keep a repressed expression, claps her hands together and smiles brightly. "Excellent. We'll all have to do our best, then."

While she turned to Shiori and exchanged a couple of strategies, Sasaki scrunched up his face in distaste. "Dammit, I hate gossip."

* * *

The strange boy in striped pajamas is in Minato's room again, but he's gotten used to his appearance. "Good evening," the boy greets as he takes a seat at the edge of his bed. "I came to see you again, as I promised. How are you?"

"It's you," Minato murmurs as he rubs at his eyes. No, the boy is definitely still there and Minato is definitely not dreaming.

"I'm glad you remembered me." He smiles, and this action stirs up feelings of nostalgia within Minato. He's not sure why. "Now… In another week, the moon will be full again. And the next ordeal will be upon you. So, be careful." Before he can ask anything (or even think of something to ask), the boy disappears. "… I'll come again."

_"That kid really needs to learn some manners,"_ he thinks as he falls back onto the pillow. Ghosts, rumors, voices, and now this…? _"I need a break."_

* * *

_Closing Song:_ "It's Time" - Imagine Dragons

* * *

A little shorter because getting into Fuuka's involvement would make the chapter too long. I'm also planning so more fun/not-so-plot-heavy scenes, which'll probably come after the next chapter.

Thanks for reading!

**xx, **der kapitan


	11. myth busters

Author's Note:

I'm planning on getting a DeviantArt in the near (?) future to post some pictures. From this story, I've currently got Yoshi, Kanzeon, Phil, Shuya/Cronus, Sasaki, Shiori, and Akio sketched out. I've been planning to set it up for about a week now... But I'm lazy and my priorities keep rearranging themselves, a ha ha.

On another note: we're finally on chapter ten, and we're getting closer to that 150th review mark! Thank you all so much for your reviews and kind words and encouragement; it means the world to me. :)

* * *

**L'Effet Papillon  
**"The Butterfly Effect"  
a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

Chapter Ten  
Myth Busters

_I will burn my dread  
__I once ran away from the god of fear  
__and he chained me to despair_

* * *

**Monday**

_"Hey Yuka-tan, have you seen the posts on the student message board? You know how last week, that girl was found by the front gate? Well, there's this rumor that it was an angry spirit from this one ghost story."_

_ "H-Hey! C'mon... Nobody believes that stuff! ... R-right?"_

_ "So, what is this ghost story about?"_

_ "Wha_—_!?_ _ It-it's probably made-up... So why bother!?"_

_ "I'm interested. Go ahead and tell us."_

_ "Uh..."_

_ "Good evening. Welcome to Junpei's Believe It or Don't. There are many strange things in this world..."_

_ "You are _really_ dumb, Junpei."_

_ "I don't know, he looks like he could really be on one of those TV ghost shows..."_

_ "... Ahem! According to one story, if you get caught at school late at night, you'll be devoured by a maniacal ghost that roams the halls! The other day, this friend of mine _— _let's call him Shu... He said to me, 'Junpei, I saw something strange.' He sounded serious, so I asked him what he'd seen. He said it was about the girl in 2-E... he claims that he saw her go into the school on the night of the incident. I couldn't believe it. She's not the kind of girl to be out at night... But Shu was as white as a sheet. He insisted it was true... Then, it hit me. That ghost must've tried to make her its dinner! And that's why they found her lying on the ground by the gate! I felt a chill run down my spine, and I broke into a cold sweat... Yes, there are strange things in this world. Believe it... or don't."_

_ "... No, Yoshi's right. Stupei is just really dumb."_

_ "I don't know, I think it's worth investigating. Don't you think so, Mitsuru?"_

_ "It certainly is interesting."_

_ "Wow, I didn't know you were afraid of ghosts, Yuka-tan. That's kinda funny."_

_ "Hey, watch it! ... F-fine, then let's investigate. We'll each ask around for the rest of the week. I'll prove to you that this ghost story is just an urban legend!"_

* * *

**Tuesday**

Yukari's really the only one who's taking this ghost investigation seriously, and Minato feels kind of bad about his apathy towards it (but not enough to change his attitude). While he spots her running around talking to different people at break and during lunch, Junpei scribbles doodles on his paper, Ryuu plays a game on his PS Vita, and Yoshi paints her nails. Ami might be trying a little harder than the rest of them, but he's ninety percent sure it's just because she's incapable of foul play. As for himself, he's having a hard enough time keeping his eyes open during the day because of lack of sleep _and_ he doesn't believe in ghosts.

_"Then again,"_ he thinks as he watches Yukari interrogate Benjiro, _"I believe in Shadows and Personas and the Dark Hour and people becoming coffins. Are ghosts existing really that much of a leap?"_ To be honest, ghosts are probably more likely than the life he leads during the hidden hour.

"H-honest, I don't know anythin' about ghosts," Benjiro says, pleading more than telling. Minato can tell how intense Yukari's being by the look of fear inscribed on Benjiro's face. At some point he looks up for help, but Minato quickly ducks his head, not wanting to get between a lioness and her prey. "I still ain't good with Japanese culture and folklore. Maybe you should ask Mr. Edogawa? He's really into that stuff."

"That's not the type of ghost story I'm talking about," Yukari replies, exasperated. "Hmph. I guess I'll go ask the others in Archery Club..."

After Yukari leaves, looking very much preoccupied, Yoshioka chortles. "Yukari's really getting into this. What about you, Junpei? Have you found out anything?" Junpei looks up from his masterpiece (crude female anatomy, Minato sees) to shoot her an incredulous expression. "What? I'm just giving you the benefit of the doubt. Besides, _you_ were the one who egged her on last night."

"Yeah, 'cause I've never seen Yuka-tan so scared before and it was hilarious," he says dismissively, like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "C'mon, try to tell me that you didn't get a kick out of it. ... That's right, you can't — 'cause it'd be a lie. Anyway, I've got better things to do than chase down rumors about a ghost in the school."

She raises an eyebrow. "Like what? Polish your action figures?"

"Ouch, Yoshi-tan..."

"Maybe we should try to help," Minato suggests, trying to salvage what's left of his conscience. Admittedly, his suggestion is mostly for selfish purposes (he thinks that Yukari is legitimately starting to like him, which is a huge plus considering where they started), but maybe this ghost story does have some merit behind it. "The next Shadow will be coming up soon, so maybe this is connected."

"You think ghosts have something to do with Shadows?" Yoshioka asks, like it's the most unbelievable thing in the world. He resists the urge to point out the fact that more people believe in ghosts than in Shadows, if they even know what the latter are at all. "Though, to be honest, I feel a lot more obligated to do it when you say it... Probably 'cause you're the leader and all." The honey blonde seriously contemplates it for a moment, but shrugs and shakes her head. "Forget it. I've got a date with Shino-senpai. Tootaloo, boys. Don't have too much fun without me." She winks at them in a way that makes them blush and shrink back in embarrassment, even if it's completely meaningless, and skips off to meet the captain of the kendo club.

When she's gone, Junpei turns to Minato with a serious expression. "Hey man, I'm not one to interfere in your personal life—"

Both of Minato's eyebrows raise in amusement.

"— _but_," (Junpei continues, waving him away), "while I'm not really into it, this is definitely a good chance for you to get into Yuka-tan's good graces. I mean, she's really attractive, super hot — but I swear she'd tear off my lips if she could. 'Sides, she's not really my type."

"I don't get it."

Junpei heaves a sigh, throws an arm around Minato's shoulders, and gives him such a pitying look that Minato _has_ to feel as though he's done something wrong. "I thought Kenji gave you the talk about dating."

"My aunt gave me that talk when I was twelve," Minato says.

Junpei deadpans. "For such a tactical genius, you're kind of slow, Minato. Come, walk with me — I shall instruct you in the ways of romance."

That day, Minato learns nothing about school ghosts.

* * *

**Wednesday**

Kanzeon wrinkles her nose in distaste when she realizes that they're standing in front of Wild Duck Burger. "Their food is so unhealthy," she comments as she folds her arms across her chest. "Wakatsu is close by, and I believe they have a new special. Why don't we go there instead?"

"Wakatsu is expensive as hell," Sasaki replies, "and my wallet's running on empty."

Still, she doesn't look convinced. "Have you seen the amount of grease they use on their products? It's ghastly and revolting. I had to work here for our week of Career Experience last year, and the process is more disgusting than what comes out."

Her argument does little to sway him. "I'm not going broke for a salad." Sasaki walks into the fast food restaurant, refusing to spend anymore time fighting over where to eat, and is followed (uncontested) by Phil, Shiori, Akio, and Shuya.

Kanzeon lingers outside for a little while, wonders how upset Phil would be if she chose to go to Wakatsu (she has money to burn and she doesn't mind spending it on a good meal), but gives in with a sigh. She stands in line behind Shuya and scans the menu, hoping for a healthy option. Then, something hits her. "Shuya, can you eat?"

"I can simulate the act of eating, yes," he answers, looking up from the small net book given to him by Phil. "However, my body cannot digest the way yours does, as I do not have human organs. Furthermore, I receive no benefits of nutrition or 'healthy eating.' My body will remain the way it was created, regardless of how many Wild Duck Burgers I consume."

The corners of Shiori's lips twitch in amusement. "That was a very complicated answer for a simple question," she states.

He blinks. "Oh. My apologies."

"Quit chatterin' and order your food," Sasaki grunts. "You're holding up the line." He takes a seat at one of the tables with his bag of burgers and fries while the others get their food. "So why are we here again?" he asks as he shovels a handful of fries into his mouth. He nudges Akio roughly with his elbow; the dark-haired male is spacing out again.

"Hm? Sorry, I wasn't paying attention," Akio murmurs.

Sasaki rolls his eyes. "Obviously."

"Shuya found some information about the rumors we were talking about on Monday," Kanzeon says as she eyes the small salad in her paper bag. Despite all the greens and chopped vegetables, there are suspicious grease stains all over the inside of the bag that make her reluctant to eat. _"I definitely should have held my ground about Wakatsu,"_ she thinks dismally. "Please, share what you found."

Shuya nods as he types away on the net book, his gloved fingers moving over the keys with precision and incredible speed. "At Kanzeon's request, I did some research online regarding the rumors about a school ghost and the student from 2-E who collapsed. It appears as though she was not the only victim; two more came after her. These three females have a reputation for belonging to, what you would call, 'a shady crowd.' Furthermore, the three were close friends, and conducted acts of emotional duress against another girl in 2-E."

"That just sounds like a case of bullying," says Sasaki. "What the hell do ghosts have to do with anything?"

"The female from 2-E has since gone missing, apparently before the three who 'bullied' her collapsed and were hospitalized, and the rumors suggest that it is her ghost that is haunting them," Shuya explains.

"Huh."

"It certainly is an interesting tale," Phil says with a chuckle. "Perhaps one that has undergone many transformations since it's gone through the rumor mill. I do agree with Kanzeon that it required some research, though. This information could be fruitful to our mission. Good work, Shuya."

Shiori, whose feet can't quite touch the ground, swings her legs to and fro underneath the table. "How did you find all of this out? I did a little eavesdropping on my classmates and in the hallway, but I didn't hear anything like that."

Shuya smiles, pleased to hear that he conducted his work well. "I met a student in the library who required some assistance with his laptop. In exchange for fixing it, I asked for some information. Though he was reluctant to speak directly about the rumors with me, he directed me to a blog he composed about the stories. Many others commented on the piece with their own theories, but I did not find much that would benefit us."

"Who was it?" Akio asks.

"A first year. Kiristugu Hiragana."

"Dunno who that is..."

"He demonstrated physical signs of discomfort at social interaction. He also stated that he spends most of his time in the library or at home."

Sasaki snorts. "Sounds like a loser."

"Many first years are shy and still adjusting to high school," Kanzeon says, feeling offended despite the comment being about someone else entirely.

"Anyway," Phil intercedes, not wanting to deal with another argument between the two, "we have plenty to go off of. I guarantee you we're ahead of Kirijo and her group. We can't stop here; now that we have the advantage, we have to keep going. Do the most we can in a small amount of time. I sense that we're moving towards the climax in this arc."

* * *

**Thursday**

"I heard the victim left a dying message," Rio says to a listening Ami. "Something about the ghost a vengeful spirit. Scary, huh? Oh my gosh, what if the victim becomes a vengeful spirit!?"

Ami laughs softly. "The victim is still alive, Rio-senpai!"

"Oh." She blinks. "R-right... Still, all these rumors going around are super spooky, don't you think? I walked home by myself last night after practice, and I kept hearing these voices... I know it's all psychological, but they're definitely getting to me." Rio sighs and allows her shoulders to droop. "I knew I should've taken Kenji up on his offer to walk me home... I mean, he's not much protection, but I'd still feel better about it."

"I could walk home with you today if you want," Ami offers.

"We live in opposite directions, Ami-chan. It's okay, it's okay. I'll just make Kenji take me to Hagakure then walk me home," Rio says. "I better catch up with him. See you at practice tomorrow?"

She bobs her head excitedly. "I have a dorm meeting, but that's not until later in the evening."

"Well, it might just be the two of us again..."

Rio tries to look like it doesn't bother her, but Ami reads the flash of disappointment and hurt before it disappears. "Well, we'll just have to make it super fun, then! Show 'em what they're missing out on, right?" That brings a smile back to the older female's face, who then says goodbye and wanders up the stairs.

Ami hums cheerfully to herself as she makes her way over to the shoe lockers. Sitting on one of the benches, with one shoe missing and a PS Vita clutched tightly in his hands, is Ryuu. "Good afternoon, Ryuu-senpai," she greets him. "Are you heading back to the dorm now?"

He pokes his tongue out of the corner of his mouth, the way he usually does when he's concentrating on a certain battle or turning point, but doesn't say anything to her. She rocks back and forth on her heels, used to the deafness that comes with his video games, and waits for him to finish. When he's finally done, he sits back with a contented sigh — and notices that he is not alone. "Oh! Hey, Ami."

"Hello," she says, like she hasn't been standing there for five minutes. ("You have the patience of a saint," Yukari told her once.) "How was your day today?"

"Long," he answers honestly. "And it's only Thursday..." Ryuu turns off his console to store it away in his backpack, then pulls on his other shoe. "By the way, about the whole 'ghost investigation' thing Yukari brought up. I haven't really been, uh, looking around, but I did hear something interesting. You know Natsuki Moriyama, that girl with the orange-ish hair?"

"Wasn't she with the girl that collapsed? The one that Yukari saw?"

"Yeah. She's in my class. I overheard her talking with some other girls about a practical joke gone wrong. It had something to do with Fuuka, I think."

Ami's brow dips in concern. "Do you think the rumors about bullying are true, Ryuu-senpai? Do think Fuuka—"

"I'm not sure," he says. "I'm still not taking the ghost thing seriously, but I think we've found something a lot bigger. Hopefully we'll be able to help."

She nods. "Yea, we should do the best we can."

* * *

**Friday**

The juniors of SEES gather in the dorm lounge at night, with Yukari looking the most excited about the whole ordeal. "Okay," she begins, "as we agreed on Monday, we'll now hold a meeting to discuss what we learned."

Yoshioka, who made no attempts whatsoever to learn about the ghost stories and rumors, hangs lazily over the arm of the couch. "You know, you'd make an awesome investigator some day, Yukari," she comments. "Have you ever thought of going into the police force?"

"You _are_ really into this," remarks Junpei.

"Of course," Yukari says, planting her hands on her hips. "I got lots of good info." She turns her harsh gaze to both Junpei and Yoshioka, who have their mouths open, ready with smart retorts. As soon as the attention is on them, however, they shrink back. "Anyway, it turns out no angry ghost was involved."

"Which is definitely a plus!" Ami chirps. "Malevolent spirits would make this mission a lot more difficult and scary."

"I dunno," Minato mumbles, with absolute seriousness, "malevolent spirits can be warded off by talismans... I don't think those work on Shadows. Ghosts would be easier to fight off, I think."

Yukari clears her throat, feeling that the meeting is already going far off topic. "First off, let's talk about how this rumor got started, shall we? Since the girl was found on school grounds, there's at least one similarity to the ghost story. But, why did the rumor spread so fast, if this was the first time anything happened?" She looks expectantly at Minato, much to his chagrin and everyone else's relief.

"Ah..." Maybe he should've tagged along with Ami or Yukari rather than Junpei and Yoshioka. The latter group had not prepared him for this pop quiz. "The ghost did it?" he offers, his mind still on the prospect of ghost stories.

The excitement is wiped off Yukari's face immediately, and is instead replaced with dismay. "Please... Let it go," she pleads.

Junpei snickers. "Nice one, man."

Minato blinks, genuinely confused. "Oh, I didn't mean to tease her..."

"_Anyway_, I was surprised when I found out the reason," Yukari continues, refusing to give up the reins. "Over the next few days, there were two more similar incidents. All three victims had to be hospitalized. No wonder people were talking. Next. The victims are in different classes, and they don't seem to be connected. However, they did have one thing in common. What was it?"

The next victim is Junpei, though everyone knows it's because he doesn't know and Yukari is feeling particularly vindictive. "What is this, a quiz show?" he asks, face reddening. He tugs on Yoshioka's skirt, needing someone else to take the fall. "Do _you_ know, Yoshi-tan?"

Yukari gazes at her with such expectance that Yoshioka can't help but feel guilty. "Uh, they ate out a lot?" she offers weakly.

Yukari is not impressed. "Ate out a lot...? Are you crazy? What's that got to do with anything?"

"Well, some families never eat out," says Junpei, trying his hardest to hold back his laughter and failing. Yoshioka delivers a swift swack to the back of his head for putting her in this position.

"You be quiet! They hung out together, not ate out a lot! Geez, it's like you guys didn't even try," she mutters. Minato, Junpei, and Yoshioka all exchange a look and hang their heads in shame. "Well, anyway, back to the story. The girls didn't hang out just once or tweice. They got in with a bad crowd, and were always out late. It can't be just a coincidence... So, to find out what happened, we're gonna do some field research."

Junpei sits upright at the same time as Ryuu, both knocking their elbows in the process. "What!?" Junpei shouts, while Ryuu tries to recover from the impact. "Field research? Are you kidding?"

"Yeah! There's this one place where the three victims were regulars."

He pales. "Wait, you're not talkin' about that place behind Port Island Station, are you...?"

"Oh, you're familiar with it? Ami's actually the one who told me about it."

If her innocence wasn't on par with an angel's, Junpei would have glared at the mentioned girl. "You can't go there!" he insists. "I've heard some nasty rumors about that place!"

Yukari isn't the least bit fazed, which, naturally, increases Junpei's worries. "Is that so? Well then, we should all go together. Actually, there are two places. The one Ami told me about, the one behind the station, and some alleyway in the Iwatodai Mall. Since there are so many of us, we should split up and tackle both. Get more done in one swoop! What do you think?"

"I think it sounds like suicide," Yoshioka mutters under her breath.

"I've heard smarter ideas," says Ryuu. "I've also heard worse... This has the potential to be dangerous."

"I do agree that it's kinda scary, but... Well, like Yukari said, there are a lot of us," Ami says. "We should be fine if we go in two groups. Besides, we fight Shadows every night in Tartarus! This shouldn't be hard at all!"

"Your smile is full of deception," Yoshioka accuses. "We're gonna die out there. Hello, Yukari, do you actually hear what you're saying? We're going _behind a station_ and _into an alleyway_ in the middle of the night! That's everything our parents tell us not to do!"

Yukari flicks her wrist dismissively. "Since when do you listen to your parents, Yoshi? Anyway," (she directs her next statement to Minato, who's now stuck between a wall and the bulldozer that is Yukari Takeba), "you'll come, right?"

Minato swallows thickly, but eventually nods. "Of course."

Her face lights up. "Thanks!"

"Forget it," Junpei grunts. "That place is bad news. I mean, don't you think we're getting in over our heads?"

"Up until now, all we've done is take orders. Does that feel right to you?"

"I know what you mean, but..." He sighs in defeat, knowing that he failed the uphill battle before it even began. "Man, did you have to say it like that? I guess I don't have a choice, do I?"

"Okay," Yukari says with finality, "we'll go tomorrow night, then."

Despite being the proclaimed leader of SEES, Minato has a feeling he doesn't have as much say in what they do as everyone thinks.

* * *

**Saturday**

"Field research," Ryuu murmurs as as they gather in the lobby of the dorm. "I definitely don't want to be pessimistic, but I feel like this can go wrong in so many ways… Maybe we should ask for help from the senpai."

"This is the first time we get to do something like this on our own, _without_ their help," Yukari protests. "Everything we've done up until now, we've done on their orders and under their supervision. Yeah, they're our senpai, but at some point we have to stand up and do things on our own. Besides, I don't feel like Mitsuru-senpai would be okay with going into an alleyway or behind the station at night."

Yoshioka folds her arms across her chest, looking at Yukari incredulously. "_I'm_ not okay with going into an alleyway or behind the station at night."

If Yukari hears her, she pretends not to. "Alright, let's get going. Oh, I guess we should decide how we're going to split up… Three of us should go to the station and three to the mall, don't you think? Hmm, there are only three guys, so we can't really split up evenly…"

Shamelessly, Yoshioka clings to Minato's arm. "I'm going with cutie." The glower on Yukari's face doesn't go unnoticed by anyone ("You dog," Junpei says, grinning as he nudges the leader), but Yoshioka dodges it with ease. "He's definitely the strongest one in the group, and I am _not_ risking death for this 'field research.' So I declare him my personal bodyguard."

"I'll go with Minato and Yoshi-tan," Junpei speaks up, right after she makes her point. "I mean… Yoshi-tan might need more protection, you know?"

"Both of you are insufferable," Yukari comments. "But whatever…" She turns to Ami, who grins brightly despite the situation, and Ryuu, who still looks unconvinced. "We'll tackle the mall, and you guys can go behind the Port Island Station. We shouldn't stay there longer than we have to, so let's go now."

"What's your hurry?" Junpei asks, still weary. "I still think this is a bad idea. How could you be afraid of ghosts, but not be scared of this…?"

"It's easy to get freaked out by something you can't see, don'tcha think?"

They all share a grimace, though none are willing to voice their disagreement. Yukari's already long since demonstrated her conviction, and she's pushed them this far anyway so there's no point in trying to argue with her now. "W-well, I suppose you do have a point," Ami says, though the quiver in her voice gives her away.

"Actually, I'm more worried about things I _can_ see," Junpei mutters, "like bats and _knives_."

"Big deal," Yukari snorts, "so it's a little dangerous. Come on, it'll be an adventure!"

'A little dangerous,' Yoshioka mouths in disbelief. "I'm not sure if you're really brave or just suicidal."

Yukari grins, like it's a compliment. "Well, come on then! This mystery isn't going to solve itself!"

* * *

**Iwatodai Mall**

Ryuu is so nervous that he's actually starting to feel nauseous. "I don't think we're going to find anything here," he says, as calmly as possible, as he peers into the darkened store windows. "We should just head back."

Yukari rolls her eyes. "We've only been here for five minutes." She wanders over the alleyway on the other end of the strip mall and peeks around the corner, only to have Ami pull her back urgently. "Ow! Ami! What are you doing?"

The younger girl wears an uncharacteristically stern expression. "I think I can hear footsteps," she says, lowering her voice so that she can barely be heard. "Ryuu-senpai, quick." He rushes over and the three of them press themselves against the brick wall so that they can effectively conceal themselves. Sure enough, they aren't the only ones in the Iwatodai Mall tonight; six other students stand in the alleyway, crowded around one beat up male. "They look familiar, don't they? Don't they go to Gekkoukan?"

"Yeah. Kanzeon's in my class," Ryuu says.

Yukari urgently raises a finger to her lips to quiet them. "Sssh! They're talking!"

"I think you overdid it," Kanzeon comments, pity in her dark eyes. The thug at their feet is sporting a number of open wounds a fresh black eye, all courtesy of Sasaki. "He's barely conscious. How in the world is he supposed to help us out in this condition?" She settles her glare on Phil, who gave the order to rough up their suspect.

"He'll be fine," Phil says. He crouches down next to the thug so that they're eye level, smiles in a way that isn't comforting to anyone (least of all the thug), and extends a white handkerchief to him. "Sorry about that, brother. Sasaki's got quite a punch on him, doesn't he? He isn't too good with self-control, either." Sasaki snorts. "This wouldn't've happened if you had agreed to work with us earlier, though. Perhaps you'll be more willing to talk now." His green eyes are especially vibrant in the slant of the moonlight.

"We hear that you're familiar with the girls who collapsed at Gekkoukan," he continues. "They spend a quite a bit of time with you and your crowd, don't they?"

The thug snatches the handkerchief from Phil's hand, only to spit blood into it. Shiori turns away in disgust, but the smile on Phil's lips does not waver. "You're all from Gekkoukan," he replies, eyeing all of their uniforms with poorly disguised loathing. "You probably know better than I do."

"Unfortunately, more gossip and rumors go around school than do actual facts."

"Tch. What the hell do you want from me?"

"Just the truth. I don't think that's too much to ask for."

* * *

**Port Island Station**

The area and its inhabitants is incredibly shady, even for a nighttime hang out. Minato knows, as soon as they arrive, that they do not belong here. They're greeted with glowers and barred teeth that demand that they leave; Minato can actually feel Junpei gulp from behind him. "The hell?" says one of the punks leaning against the station wall. "Check out those rags... They're from Gekko High."

"This is worse than I thought," Junpei hisses, grabbing onto the other arm that Yoshioka isn't digging her nails into.

"Hey, you," calls one who looks more amused than pissed off that they're here. "I think you're in the wrong place. You guys don't belong here, but I bet you don't need us telling you that." Yoshioka gasps when he drops his cigarette and stomps on it as he approaches them. "So you better beat it, Goatee, before things get really messy, eh? I'm a lot nicer than most o' these guys." His group of friends snickers.

"H-hey, we just got a little lost," Junpei manages, holding his hands up in defense. "We're not here to make trouble. Just let us go, alright?"

Another guy comes up and clamps a hand on Yoshioka's shoulder, eliciting a barely suppressed shriek from her. "Gutsy request from a guy who came wanderin' into our territory," he says, smirking. "You're wasting your time with these losers, babe. C'mon, we'll show you a good time."

She slaps his hand away in disgust. "Hell no! Don't touch me!" That's enough to tick off the lot of them, but she stands her ground. "I'm not scared of a bunch of good-for-nothings like you."

"Yoshi-tan!" Junpei hisses, writhing under the group's intimidating glares. "So you decide to get brave _now_?"

"They're just a bunch of pigs, Junpei," she snaps, returning their glares with one of her own.

His eyes dart to the bats and knives in some of their hands. "Uh, yeah, pigs with weapons," he murmurs as he grabs her wrist. "C'mon, let's just get out of here." He turns to Minato with a look of desperation, and for once the leader has to agree; they're not in a good situation, and Yoshioka goading them is definitely not helping. Before they can get out of there, though, one of the guys steps forward and roughly pushes Yoshioka by the shoulders, throwing her back. "Hey, man! Watch it! She's just a girl," he says, supporting her to keep her from falling.

"Keep your bitch on a leash, Goatee," he growls.

"_EXCUSE ME_—_!?_"

Junpei clamps his hand over Yoshioka's mouth, stifling her angry protests. "We'll leave, we'll leave! C'mon, just let us go. We're not here to be trouble."

Minato can't help but think about how silly his statement sounds, especially when they're all looking at Yoshioka thrashing about. "Yeah, we're gonna go," he says, pulling Yoshioka away from Junpei and placing a calming hand on her shoulders.

"Tch. You guys are pissing me off," says the first guy that approached them. Without anymore warning, he throws a fist into Junpei's stomach.

"Ugh!" Junpei collapses from both pain and shock, as Yoshioka slaps her hands over her mouth.

He wheels around on Minato while the other punks close in on the three of them. "I don't like your face either, pretty boy," he says with a sneer. "Got anything to say before I beat it to a bloody pulp? Or maybe your bitch has got some more smart comments."

Minato braces himself for the worst (fighting against Shadows with weapons is one thing, but fighting bare knuckle against fifteen other guys is another), when a familiar voice states, "That's enough." They all turn in the direction of the voice; it's the guy that was in Akihiko's hospital room, the one who brought Yoshioka to the dorm that one night. "They didn't know what they were getting into. I'll make sure they leave. Alright?"

While the first guy steps back, his friend brandishes a fist against Shinjiro. "Who do you think you, are dumbass? You want some too!?"

Shinjiro sighs. "Do I have a choice?"

"That's it, you're goin' down!" He charges at him, but Shinjiro easily dodges with a sidestep, then throws an elbow at his face. The punk flies back, falling to the ground roughly as his nose bleeds. "Shit," he gasps, clutching at the new wound.

"Damn you, Shinjiro," says the leader, as he backs away. "That's right, you're from Gekko High too. I thought you were one of us."

Shinjiro raises an eyebrow at the allegation. "What gave you that idea? I don't remember swearing a blood oath."

"Son of a bitch... You better watch yourself in these parts from now on." Despite the threat, Minato can easily read the fear in his expression. "C'mon, get the hell up, you worthless shit." He kicks his friend on the ground, who scrambles to his feet. With a nod, the rest of his gang leaves with him.

Yoshioka, feeling guilty, helps Junpei up. "Geez, are you okay? I didn't think he'd punch you for what I said..." She impishly turns to Shinjiro. "Um, thanks, Senpai."

"You idiots!" he barks, startling all of them. "Get outta here. This place isn't for you."

"But wait!" she shouts. "We came here for a reason!"

He exhales steadily through his mouth as he adjusts his beanie. "You guys... Did Aki tell you to come here?"

Minato shakes his head. "No, he didn't. We came here on our own." Akihiko will definitely find out about this later... Who's going to be more upset with them — Akihiko or Mitsuru? _"Maybe I should've told Yukari no,"_ he thinks, already fearing the punishment.

"Whatever..." Shinjiro shoves his hands into the pockets of his peacoat, a disinterested look on his face. "What do you wanna know? About that ghost story?"

Junpei's eyes widen in surprise. "Yeah. How'd you know?"

The brunet doesn't answer immediately. Instead, he walks over to a set of stairs and sits down; the others slowly follow him. "It's a rumor. Those girls who wound up in the hospital were here talkin' shit every night... About all the things they'd done to some girl named Fuuka."

"Fuuka...? You mean Fuuka Yamagishi, from 2-E? They were picking on her?"

"That's why people are saying it's Fuuka's spirit that did it. I hear it's all over the net, too."

"Ghost story," Minato murmurs to himself. "Fuuka's spirit, huh?"

It clicks in Minato's head, but both Yoshioka and Junpei still haven't made the connection. "What do you mean by that?" Yoshioka asks.

"You guys don't know?" replies Shinjiro. "This Fuuka girl might be dead. She hasn't been home in over a week. Don't you guys go to school? How do you not know this?"

Yoshioka tugs on Junpei and Minato's elbows. "She could be dead?" she whispers. "Do you think we should say something about it to Akihiko-senpai and Mitsuru-senpai? I-I mean, the rumor is that she's just weak and sick, but if she's dead...? Do you think her homeroom teacher knows anything about it?" While they quietly converse, Shinjiro mutters something to himself, then abruptly stands up. "Huh? Senpai?"

"Nothing," he answers quickly. "That's all I know. Satisfied?"

Junpei bows deeply, so that his cap nearly falls off. "T-thanks, Senpai!" He realizes that he's the only one bowing, so he smacks Minato. "C'mon, show some appreciation, man."

Both Yoshioka and Minato bow at his urging. "Yeah, thanks," says Yoshioka. There's a hint of reluctance in her tone. "You're... kinda weird."

"Yoshi-tan!"

"Yoshi..."

"Oh, I mean, yeah, thanks," she repeats, standing upright. "You keep showing up to save me, so it's just a little weird... but I'm grateful." She manages a smile.

As if he's unsure how to respond (not that Minato blames him), Shinjiro just frowns. "Tch, whatever... Just don't come here again." He departs down an alleyway, leaving the juniors to themselves.

"That was rough," Junpei sighs, shoulders sagging.

"No kidding," Minato agrees. "We should be heading back anyway. We need to talk to the others..." Yoshioka and Junpei follow him closely, and for the rest of the way he keeps a close eye on their surroundings and the people around them. _"Fuuka Yamagishi... Is she really dead...?"_

* * *

_Closing Song:_ "It's Time" - Imagine Dragons

* * *

Ahhh I just realized that it's June now and we're finally in June in this story. We're still a long way from being done, ha ha.

Okay, so Fuuka next time, then super happy fun times.

**xx, **der kapitan


	12. the oracle

Author's Note:

My DeviantArt has been set up and my username is **der-kapitan (there are two dashes; FF won't let me do it)**; there's a link to it on my profile if you'd rather just click. I've currently got sketches of everyone... I think? (They're just headshots right now… I might try to get around to full body at some point.) Also, if you've got a DA, feel free to add me! :)

I'm sorry if I don't respond to you guys as often as I should; I always remind myself to reply to a review and end up forgetting. I truly do appreciate your input, though, so I'll try to be better about it. :)

* * *

**L'Effet Papillon  
**"The Butterfly Effect"  
a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

Chapter Eleven  
The Oracle

_I will burn my dread  
__I once ran away from the god of fear  
__and he chained me to despair_

* * *

The next day at lunchtime, the Faculty office becomes an interrogation room. In addition to the groups that had gone out and done their "field research" last night, Mitsuru is there, with her arms folded across her chest and a stern expression on her face. Despite his feigned confidence, Minato can tell that Mr. Ekoda's leer is withering underneath the power of Kirijo. "Mitsuru-senpai," Yukari breathes, surprised to see the upperclassman. "Why are you here?"

"Same reason as you," she answers. She turns her sharp eyes to the classic literature teacher, who seems to sink more in his seat. (Junpei nudged Minato, and the two share a short, pleased grin.) "Mr. Ekoda, I'm here to ask you about a student named Fuuka Yamagishi."

A sharp gasp comes from another girl in the room, who's standing on the opposite side of Mr. Ekoda. Minato hadn't even realized she was there. "No! I-I never thought it'd turn out like this…" Her eyes lower to the ground as guilt washes over face, whereas a sense of recognition appears on Yukari's. "Fuuka, I… She…"

"What did you do to Yamagishi?" Mitsuru asks firmly.

"Hold on Mitsuru," says Mr. Ekoda, finally finding his backbone. He sits a little straighter in his seat, tilts his chin, and tries to take an authoritative stance; Mitsuru isn't the least bit fazed. "This isn't an interrogation. Natsuki, you don't have to say anything if you don't want to. You wouldn't want to give her the wrong idea."

Natsuki doesn't appear to hear him. She rambles on, mumbling more to herself than to anyone else. "Fuuka… She… always looked so frazzled whenever I gave her a hard time… Then, I realized she's an honor student, but deep inside, she's the same as us. I knew exactly which buttons to push. We were just meson' with her that day, too! May 29th…" Her brow furrows at the memory, and she shakes her head, as if in denial. "We took Fuuka to the gym… and locked the door from the outside."

Junpei's jaw drops at the information. "What!? You locked her in!?"

"That night," she continues, "Maki returned to school alone. She was afraid we'd get in trouble if Fuuka committed suicide. But, she never came back, and the next morning…"

"She was found lying on the ground by the gate," Yukari concludes. She exchanged a look with her fellow underclassmen. Even if they'd already learned the truth behind the ghost stories and the rumors, finding this cleared up many more questions.

"I went to the gym to let Fuuka out, but the door was still locked. So, I opened it and went inside, but she wasn't there… We all freaked out. Starting that night, we all went looking for her. But every night, another one of us went missing… and they each ended up like Maki!" With a strangled sob, she buries her face in her hands, overwhelmed by the events and her own shame. "We were just teasing her; it was supposed to be a joke… But what if Fuuka's…!?"

Mitsuru sighs. _"I'm not one to condone bullying of any nature… However, there are more important things at hand."_ She narrows her eyes at Mr. Ekoda, who jumps and swallows thickly. "By the way, Mr. Ekoda. All this time, you've attributed Yamagishi's absences to 'illness.' But in reality, she was missing. You must have been aware of that… What was your intention?"

"I was thinking of the students, of course," he replies. The waver in his voice makes it that much more difficult to believe him and take him seriously. "You children may not understand, but we have to consider the future of everyone affected."

"You mean, you chose not to report this to the police for the 'good of the class.'"

"I-it was in her best interest," he stutters. "I wouldn't want her records to be stained by something like this. Her parents agree!"

Something flashes in her eyes that has him slinking back into his seat once again. Even Minato and the others step back so as to not get in her way. "So to protect your career, you ignored your responsibility as a teacher… How despicable!"

"I-I didn't… I was just…"

She disregards him completely and instead addresses Natsuki, taking on a softer expression. "About your friends… Did you notice anything unusual before the incidents? Anything at all."

Natsuki doesn't respond for a while, and for a moment Mitsuru fears she might actually be one of the Lost. When she finally snaps out of it, she raises her head with a look of uncertainty. "They all heard a voice," she murmurs. "A creepy voice. Right before each of them went missing. They… said it was calling their name."

"Creepy," mutters Yoshioka.

"Senpai," says Ryuu, "could it be…?"

"It's them, no doubt about it," she confirms. "Until now, there was no way of knowing how or why some people are conscious during the Dark Hour… But, it's the voice; it draws them in. It's not a random phenomenon. This whole thing has made me realize that they're leerily targeting humans. Shadows are the enemy of mankind." She then turns to Natsuki, who's staring to sway on her feet a little. "Stay at our dorm tonight; it's the safest place. If you hear the voice, tell us immediately. And don't leave the room, no matter what. If you can do that much, you should be okay. … Don't worry, Yamagishi should be alright as well."

"You really think she's okay, Mitsuru-senpai?" Ami whispers, concerned. "She's been in there for several days now."

When her gaze returns to the party, there's less conviction in them. "To be honest, I'm not sure. We can only hope for the best and do what we can. We'll meet after school in the Student Council Room to discuss tonight's operation. Our goal is to rescue Yamagishi. My intuition tells me that she's still inside the school." She walks passed them, absorbed in her own thoughts, but pauses just outside the door. "Lunch is nearly over. It'd be unwise to be late to class." A fleeting smile graces her lips before she leaves, her heeled boots clicking against the tile floors.

Once she's gone, Junpei gawks unabashedly in front of the others. "Intuition!?" he yelps. "How the hell is intuition gonna save us from Shadows!?"

"Junpei," Yukari hisses, pinching his elbow. "E-excuse us, Mr. Ekoda. Um, see you later, Natsuki." Yukari bows at her teacher, who's still stunned, then drags Junpei out; the others follow quickly, not wanting to be alone with a teacher and his wounded pride. "I'm a little worried, to be honest," she says once they're in the hallway. "I mean… Why are we meeting at the school? Are we gonna wait for the Dark Hour to come while we're here?"

"Isn't that unsafe?" Ami asks, wringing her hands together.

"It's definitely dangerous," Ryuu says. "I mean… Aren't we gonna end up in some place we're not familiar with? Is this a good idea?"

"Well, we don't really have much of a choice," Yoshioka mutters. Her dark brown eyes shift suddenly to Minato, almost accusingly. "Hey, you're the leader, cutie. Tell Mitsuru-senpai no."

Minato immediately imagines being lynched by Queen Kirijo and shakes his head. His theory is that he's the leader in terms of title, but Mitsuru will always be at the reins. "No way," he says plainly. "I'm not going against her orders."

"Worst leader ever…"

"I get you, man," Junpei whispers. "I wouldn't fight Mitsuru-senpai, either. Heck, I'd rather be thrown into Tartarus than see what she'd do to me."

"That's exactly what's going to happen!" Yoshioka snaps. "We're gonna get thrown into Tartarus onto some random floor and we're going to be devoured by Shadows! This is _not_ how I wanted my life to end…"

Ami pats her on the back despite her dramatics. "Oh, I'm sure there's a small chance that we'll actually die…" She looks at the others for help, but they wither away, unable to fulfill her silent request. She sighs. "Well, it's like you said — we can't do much more. I guess we'll just have to trust Senpai and hope for the best."

* * *

The sun is starting to set, dipping below Tatsumi Port Island's horizon. While they wait for nightfall, Phil, Sasaki, Shiori, and Akio wander around the now empty high school. "So is our mission here to rescue this Fuuka girl?" Sasaki asks as he leans against the wall.

"Our mission is the same as always," Phil replies. He stands at the window and admires the streaks of purple and intermingle with warm hues in the sky. It's quite peaceful, he thinks, which is ironic considering the evening that is to come. "There's going to be a full moon tonight, which means another one of those Shadows is going to appear. That also means that SEES is going to be on the move… Interception of Fuuka Yamagishi would certainly be a benefit for us. Doubtless they'll attempt to recruit her."

"Do you think we'll be able to stop them?" Shiori asks, looking up from her book.

Sasaki snorts. "What? You think we won't be able to handle _them_?"

"Have you actually seen _them_ fight?" she retorts, irritated. "Besides, it's not just Kirijo and the boxer anymore. They've got six more people fighting with them. They've been training in Tartarus; they know how to fight Shadows."

"Yes," Phil agrees, "but do they know how to fight humans?"

While she huffs, Akio suddenly clamps a hand on her shoulder. "Speaking of which, I think you should sit this one out, Shie."

"What!?"

"We don't have any experience fighting them," he says, frowning. "Aside from that, I know you haven't been taking your medication lately, and your coughs have been getting worse. I'm not gonna fight you on this." Though her jaw clenches and she has half the heart (probably more) to smack her brother with the book in her hand, she doesn't argue. For once, Akio's lips are set in a stern expression, and she knows she'd just be wasting her breath. "You can stay behind with Shuya. He'll take care of you."

She twists her head to the side to glare at opposite wall. "I can take care of myself…"

"Speaking of Shuya," Phil murmurs as he checks the wrist on his watch, "where are he and Kanzeon? They should be back by now."

As if on cue, the anti-Shadow weapon appears at the top of the stairs, with Kanzeon in tow. "We have retrieved the key to the gymnasium," he announces, holding up the silver key. "I also conducted a quick scan of the school grounds. Aside from the security guards, everyone else has vacated the premises. According to my observations, the guards switch off every half hour, with one patrolling inside and the other outside. So long as we remain light on our feet, they should not pose a problem to us."

"Good work." Phil takes the key, dangles it in the slant of sunlight, and smiles at the glint that reflects off of it. "It appears as though we have the upper hand. Now it's just a matter of waiting."

Kanzeon folds her arms across her chest as she stands adjacent to them. "Speaking of waiting… Fuuka Yamagishi went missing several days ago — over a week, I believe. She was locked in the gym during the day, and got lost in Tartarus during the Dark Hour. She's been stuck for ten days. It's… It's highly unlikely that she's still alive if that's the case."

"That would be true," Phil agrees, "if the Dark Hour functioned as a part of a normal day. The Dark Hour exists between one day and the next; it's not actually a part of the twenty-four process. Tartarus only appears during the Dark Hour. Perhaps the Dark Hour is its own time frame. It functions differently. Thus, while it's been ten days for us, who experience the rest of the day outside of Tartarus, perhaps it's only been ten hours for her."

She blinks in surprise, impressed by the theory. "That's… very true. I never thought of it that way."

"Still," says Sasaki, "ten hours is a long time to be stuck in Tartarus."

"With a little luck and skill, I imagine many would be able to survive ten hours of Tartarus," Phil says with a chuckle.

"I hear that Fuuka Yamagishi is frail and fairly weak physically," Kanzeon says. "She's in my class, though I've never conversed with her. What I know comes mostly from rumors and gossip among the other girls in class."

"We'd all be surprised by how little truth is behind rumors," he replies. "In any event, I suppose we'll unveil the truth tonight. Come, I think the security guard is coming, and it'd be unfortunate if we all got caught now."

* * *

Getting into the school is easy enough (thanks to Junpei's so-called "genius," but wandering around late at night is both a hassle and dangerous and definitely not at the top of Minato's favorite things to do list. Yukari is awfully jumpy (which is kind of cute, but when he tells her she glares holes into him), the security guard is everywhere he doesn't need to be, and Mitsuru takes everything too seriously. (Though, in her defense, he seriously contemplated checking his grades while he was in the Faculty office.) Aside from walking right in through a door, however, nothing is going according to plan.

"We can't find the key," he reports when they regroup in the lobby. "The gym key, right? We looked through all of them and couldn't find it. It's not there."

Mitsuru frowns. "This puts a serious dent into our plan... Do you think someone sensed our movements beforehand?"

"How likely is that, though?" Akihiko asks, shaking his head. "Maybe someone just accidentally took it home with them. You know some of the faculty here isn't too bright." They all hum quietly in agreement. "Well, we can't just hang around here in the open like this; we'll definitely get caught. We should just head over to the gym and see if there's anything we can do."

"Yes, you're right... If worse comes to worse, I will allow minor damage to the school. Yamagishi's life is more important that physical property." The party comes to a stop outside of the school as she checks her watch. "It's almost the Dark Hour. We'll divide into teams again. Four of you will enter Tartarus, and the rest of you will remain outside with me. Once the Dark Hour has begun, I'll determine Yamagishi's position."

"I'll go," Akihiko volunteers. "You should come, too, Minato. You can take the lead, like always."

After looking around and seeing everyone's hesitance, Ami raises her hand as well. "I'll come, too."

"Um," squeaks Yukari, "I'll be the fourth—"

"Wait a second!" Junpei cuts in, much to her irritation. "Remember how I accidentally screwed up on the monorail? Gimme a chance to make up for that!"

Yukari's glare has the potential to cut through metal, Minato thinks with slight fear. "Oh, come on! It's not always about _you_. Besides, you didn't 'accidentally' screw up," she says, air-quoting 'accidentally' for emphasis.

Before they can break into a fight, Akihiko says, "Alright, Junpei. We'll give you another shot."

The grin on Junpei's face is full of triumph. "Sweet! Thanks!"

"I guess that means we're staying with Mitsuru-senpai, then," Yoshioka murmurs, lightly tugging on Ryuu's sleeve. She notices the light blush on his cheeks, even if it's dark, and a cheshire grin spread across her face. "Oooh, are you excited, Ryuu-kun?"

"Yoshi," he hisses, slapping her hands away. "Knock it off...!"

"Ahaha, that's so cute, Ryuu-kun."

"Stop...!"

"Is there a problem?" Mitsuru asks, oblivious to the whispering going on between the underclassmen.

"Oh no, not at all," Yoshioka replies, smiling in a way that can only be perceived as guilty. "So, the three of us will be hanging out in the lobby with you when the Dark Hour comes. Right, got it."

Though she's slightly concerned with the shifty behavior, she decides to say nothing more of it. "Alright... Well, the four of you should head to the gym now. It could take some time to try to get in, and we must do the operation tonight." Her gaze drifts up towards the full moon hanging in the sky. "Also, be prepared for anything. We've never gone into Tartarus this way, so... it could be dangerous. I have my reservations, but Yamagishi..."

Minato nods. "I understand."

They race to the gym, not wanting to waste anymore time. While Akihiko attempts to scale the walls ("Why?" Minato can't help but wonder), Junpei peeks in through the windows, and Ami runs around, Minato walks right up to the front doors. _"It couldn't help to try, I guess,"_ he decides as he wraps his fingers around the door handles and pulls. And they open. "Didn't expect that," he mumbles as he blinks in surprise. "Hey, I found a way in."

"Wow, good job, Leader!" Ami says as she runs up to him.

"The front doors, though? Really?" Junpei asks, shaking his head. "It's that easy?"

"I guess we just got lucky," Akihiko says.

They walk inside what appears to be an empty gymnasium. The lights are off, all equipment has been put away, and nobody is here— "Looks like the party's finally arrived." They swerve around at the sound of the voice, which echoes from the other end of the room. "Damn, you guys are late. For a second there, we thought you guys had finally given up." Minato squints, and in the distance he can see four distinct figures in the dark.

"What the hell!?" Junpei whispers.

"You all are quite dedicated," says a different voice, though it too is masculine. "I'm impressed, when I'm not irritated."

"Who are you?" Minato asks calmly.

"Ah, my apologies. How rude of me." They step into the moonlight, and Minato's not sure if he's more startled because he recognizes them or because of the weapons at their sides. (_"Is that a _chainsaw!?_"_ Junpei hisses urgently.) "It forgot me that, while we know plenty about you, you know nothing of us. "I am Phil Luciano, and these are my friends, Sasaki Kusanagi, Kanzeon Shinko, and Akio Kobayashi. There are two more of us, but they can't be here tonight. They send you their greetings as well."

Akihiko's eyes narrow and his fists clench at his sides; he's ready for a fight. "We know who you are," he says, gaze lingering on the Gekkoukan insignia on their uniforms. "Why are you here? What's your purpose?"

"To stop you," says the girl with black hair. Minato easily identifies her; she modifies her uniform so that it has a Victorian feel to it, with high ruffled collars and fuller skirts. She's a little intimidating in the hallways, but the black chainsaw at her side now certainly doesn't help. "What you're doing is going to bring death to all of us. You don't understand the consequences of your actions."

"Bring death...?" Ami murmurs, brow furrowing. "I don't understand... We're stopping these Shadows who're preying on human minds! We're doing the total opposite!"

Sasaki barks out a mocking laugh. "Shit, you guys seriously think you're doing us a favor? You really are delusional. Kirijo hasn't told you anything, has she?"

Minato looks at Akihiko, who freezes at the accusation aimed at Mitsuru. Perhaps he and Yukari were right, he thinks. Maybe they have been hiding something. "What do you mean?" he asks, both wanting to know more and desperate for a diversion. They still have to save Fuuka, but if these guys are going to get in the way... _"We can only focus on one thing at a time."_

The one with a dark blue ponytail says, sounding astonished, "They really have no clue."

"I'm not surprised," Phil says. "Kirijo is skilled at keeping secrets locked away, even from their own men.

"You have no idea what you're saying." Even Akihiko doesn't look convinced by his own words, though. "There's no way you could understand."

"Enough," Kanzeon hisses. "We're not going to waste anymore time."

The clock strikes twelve, and just as they all pull out their weapons, the room around them begins to warp. Minato can feel the ground underneath his shift and move, reaches for someone's hand (Ami's? It's quite small) as it slips away, and everything gets hazy. Someone screams and another one shouts (he thinks he hears his name, but he can't distinguish the voices anymore), and he falls.

* * *

Ryuu stands next to Mitsuru, who fiddles with a device on her motorcycle. Her eyebrows knit together in an expression of worry, while her lips remain pursed. "We still haven't heard back from them," she says quietly to herself. "The transceiver's sensitivity is set to high, too... Maybe they're too far out of reach?" She pulls away when nothing works, and rubs her forehead. "This was too risky of a plan. Perhaps I should have objected more."

"But there was no other way," Ryuu says, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. He quickly retracts it, face and ears red, and clears his throat. "Besides, I'm sure they fine. They might just be too high up."

Suddenly, the transceiver crackles, and Akihiko's barely coherent voice is heard. _"Mitsuru, can you hear me?"_

"Yes, this is Mitsuru," she says. "I've confirmed your position... You're much higher up than I expected." She exchanges a look with Ryuu. "You're barely in communication range. Is everyone alright?"

_"... don't know... got separ..."_

"Akihiko? Come in, Akihiko!" she shouts desperately. She curses quietly and turns away from the transceiver, which turns off. "We've already lost the signal," she informs the others. Mitsuru tries to remain as calm as possible, but her heart is racing and pounding against her chest. _"I shouldn't have gone along with this plan,"_ she thinks. _"The others could be in real danger."_

Yoshioka's eyes drift towards the stairs leading up to the ticking clock that leads to the first floor of Tartarus. "I'm starting to get worried," she admits. "We can't contact them and they're separated... Fighting agains the Shadows is hard enough with four of us, but on their own..."

"Hey, we can't afford to think like that, right?" Yukari insists.

"Yeah, I guess..." None of them look convinced.

* * *

The ceiling is black, the walls are gray, and the floor is too cold. Minato groans as he sits up, his head clouded and mind fuzzy. _"That was a terrible idea,"_ he decides as he rubs his temples, which throb painfully. He opens his eyes and searches for a familiar face, and finds one — though it's not one he was hoping for.

"This is the first time we've spoken outside of your room," says the mysterious boy, who's smiling despite the fact that he's hanging out in the Tower of Demise. Minato should be more freaked out by the fact that this kid is following him around (and is not, in fact, a figment of his imagination), but it's not even weird anymore.

"Where are the others?" he asks.

"Don't worry, you'll see them soon." The boy glances around at his surroundings, but isn't the least bit discomforted. Minato thinks, with some reservation, that the boy looks like he's at home. "But, we don't have much time to talk. Tonight, there is more than one ordeal you must face. You should hurry... She's waiting for you. You guys will need her. Okay, then... I hope we can speak again."

"Wha—" And then he vanishes, like usual. "—t the hell...?" These terrible omens always accompany the kid in pajamas; it's like something out of a horror movie.

_"Are... you... alrig_—_? ... distance... too far... can't prov_— _... back up... Separated from... Akihiko and_—_"_

The little bit he can make of Mitsuru's voice is cut off. "Geez," he mutters, standing up. The only way from here is up, though he doesn't know if that's going to get him back to the others or not. _"And I might run into one of those guys... I'll just have to be careful."_

He makes his way up the stairs, occasionally with Mitsuru trying to reconnect and often having to avoid Shadows. The last thing he wants to do is waste energy and strength on an ambush of Shadows; in addition to needing to find the others, they still have to find Fuuka. _"'There is more than one ordeal you must face'...? What was he talking about?"_ Whatever the case, Minato knows that he has to be ready.

"Who's there...? ... Are you human? Where am I...? Why am I here...? Please answer me... Is someone there...?"

The strange voice is clear in his mind, but Minato can tell that it's far away. He stops to look around and see if anyone is there, if he's mistakenly missed someone. "Hello?" he calls.

That moment of distraction is enough for the Shadow to sneak up on him and knock him off his feet. With a shout of surprise, Minato hits the ground and the loose grip on his sword has it spinning across the floor. The Shadow makes a threatening sound as it looms over him, threatening to attack. Cursing, he pulls out his Evoker and shuts his eyes— and the sound of a gun shot rings in his ears. But it's not the usual glass shattering in his mind from his Evoker; it's much more real and concrete.

"Watch out, Senpai!" Ami shouts as she pulls the trigger on her shotgun another time. The bullet pierces through the Shadow; with a weak cry, it crumbles and dissolves into the ground.

_"I'm never gonna get used to seeing her with a shotgun," _Minato thinks as she lowers the huge weapon. _"She's so tiny... How the heck does the recoil not do some damage to her?"_ It's a strange image, the grinning and happy-go-lucky Ami wielding a shotgun. A strange, kind of badass image.

She rushes to his aid and helps him back onto his feet. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," he answers, smiling gratefully. "Thanks for that, Ami." He picks up the discarded sword on the floor and puts it back into its sheath. "I thought I heard a voice, though..."

"Oh, you too? I was actually following the voice. I bet Junpei-senpai and Akihiko-senpai are nearby, too. We should hurry and find them." He and Ami run up the flight of stairs to the next floor, where they spot the mentioned males standing in the center of the room. "You are here!" she exclaims. "Thank God. I was afraid none of us would find each other." All of them share a laugh, even if the reality of Ami's fear was very real.

"I don't think we should enter Tartarus this way again," Akihiko mutters as he rubs the back of his head. "Probably not one of my better ideas."

Junpei bobs his head enthusiastically in agreement. "Oh, yeah! Did you hear a voice while you were in here? Um, kinda like—"

"Who is this...?" asks the same voice Minato heard earlier. "Are you human?"

"Th-that's it! That's the voice! It sounded like it came from behind us..."

They swivel around, quick enough to see a head of mint green hair disappear behind the corner. "Umm, are you Fuuka Yamagishi?" Ami asks softly, taking careful steps forward.

Realizing that they aren't a threat, the girl emerges and steps into their view, though she still shrinks back into her shoulders. "You are human... I..."

Akihiko smiles, trying to ease her worries. After being stuck in Tartarus for ten hours, it's understandable that she'd still be nervous. "I'm glad you're okay. Come with us; we'll make sure you're safe."

She breathes a small sigh of relief. "Thank you so much... I..."

"I guess we made the right decision after all," Akihiko concludes. "I'll see if I can contact Mitsuru."

He fiddles around with the transceiver attached to his wrist, leaving the others to check up on Fuuka. "Are you okay?" Ami asks. "You've been in here for a long time."

"Here...?" she replies. "Where are we? I was at school, and then..."

Junpei exchanges a look with the others, then laughs sheepishly. "Well... It's a long story. I'll explain after we get outta here. By the way, you're looking pretty good considering... Have you run into any monsters?"

Fuuka's gray-brown eyes widen in surprise, though there's also a sense of understanding and acknowledgment in them. "So there _are_ strange reatures in here, then... I've managed to avoid them so far."

Akihiko drops his transceiver, absolutely stunned by her words. "Are you serious!? How's that possible!?"

"Umm, it's hard to describe, but... I can sort of tell where they are."

"It's kind of like Mitsuru-senpai's Persona," says Ami.

"It might be even stronger," Akihiko says. "Since Mitsuru's Persona is more battle-oriented... Well, hang on to this." Minato's not sure where Akihiko's been storing it, but the silver-haired boxer pulls out an Evoker and hands it to Fuuka. Sure enough, she nearly drops it in shock. "Think of it as a lucky charm," he chuckles. "It's not really a gun. Alright, let's get outta here."

They group together and look for an exit, none of them wanting to take the change of splitting up again. As they pass by a large window, Junpei pauses. "Whoa, check out the moon," he murmurs in awe. "I've never seen it so bright."

"Some research indicates that the Shadows are affected by the phases of the mooon," Akihiko says as he too admires the full moon. "Of course, the same can be said for humans."

"That would explain Yuka-tan's mood swings... Hey." His dramatic expression is replaced with one of solemn curiosity. "Wasn't it a full moon the night we went to the monorail?"

"Was it?"

"I think so... Why?"

Akihiko, with urgency, turns to Minato, whose eyes have been glued to the moon since the window came into view. "Hey, did you see the moon on the night the dorm was attacked, back in April?"

_"That was a while ago,"_ he wants to tell Akihiko, but the anxiety in his eyes raises some alarm. "Yeah, it was full."

"Shit..." He presses the buttons on the transceiver, desperate to contact Mitsuru. "Mitsuru, are you there!?"

_"Akihiko...? Shadows_—"

"Hey, cna you hear me? Mitsuru, come in!"

_"... Be careful...!"_

"Mitsuru!? Mitsuru!"

Fuuka takes a sudden step backwards, startled. "What is this thing?" she whispers, her fingers shaking. "It's much bigger than the others... It's... attacking someone."

Akihiko slams a fist against the wall. "Dammit!"

Junpei, wide-eyed and thoroughly confused, looks from Fuuka to Akihiko in hopes for an answer. "Wh-what's going on!?"

"It's one of _them_. If my guess is right, they come every full moon! ... Shit, we have to hurry!"

* * *

Yoshioka gasps in pain when she's hit with a powerful lightning skill that knocks her off her feet. "What the hell...!?" She presses her hands to her rib, which aches and feels bruised, and crawls over to her dual elbow blades. "Training in Tartarus was supposed to prepare me for _this_...!?" Yukari, still on the ground, drags herself over to the honey blonde and performs a simple Dia spell on her torso; it does little to alleviate the pain. "Shit... How the hell are we supposed to fight these things?"

Yukari struggles to get back onto her feet. "There are two of them... But nothing we're using on them is working...!"

"Aagh!"

"Mitsuru-senpai!" The taller Shadow knocks over her motorcycle, destroying its electronics and rendering it useless, then picks her up by the waist. She struggles to escape its iron grip, but it squeezes and the air is forced out of her lungs. "Don't worry, Senpai!" Ryuu pulls out his Evoker and summons Zeus for a lightning strike, but the other Shadow steps in front and takes the hit, which leaves no mark on it. "What!? Why isn't it working...?"

"Mitsuru!"

Minato and the others come running down the stairs, with Akihiko at the head of the party. The two large Shadows notice them immediately, and one of them roars at their interference. "S-shit!" Junpei squeaks as he pulls out his sword. "They look pissed!"

As if things couldn't get any worse, Natsuki walks in through the front door. Her eyes are glazed over and she doesn't look like she's in possession of her own body. She stands in the center of the lobby, between Minato and the Shadows. "W-what the hell is she doing here!?" Akihiko exclaims, unsure of how to proceed. With her standing in the middle of everything, trying to attack would be dangerous.

"F-Fuuka," Natsuki murmurs, still dazed, as she drops to her knees.

"Moriyama-san?" She brushes between Minato and Junpei, fast enough to avoid their hands, and runs over to Natsuki. "Please, get out of here! It's dangerous!"

Natsuki looks up into Fuuka's eyes; there is true remorse in her gaze. "I... I wanted to tell you... I'm sorry..."

Fuuka's face, fatigued and forlorn, soften even more. "Oh, Moriyama-san..." Her head jerks up when the taller Shadow steps towards her, its movement causing the ground beneath them to shake. Fuuka looks from Natsuki to the Shadow; that moment is enough to solidify her resolve. She faces the Shadow head on, fearless, and pulls out the Evoker. Her fingers quiver as they try to find the trigger, but just as the Shadow reels back to strike her, she shoots. Fuuka's Persona — a blonde woman with bandages covering her eyes and throat — protects both her and Natsuki in its glass womb. The Shadow's strike bounces off this glass barier, causing it to stagger back and into the other Shadow, which in turn drops Mitsuru.

Akihiko is quick to run to Mitsuru's side, grabbing her and pulling her away from the enraged Shadows. "Mitsuru!"

"I'm alright," she says, though the wounds on her body and she way she presses a hand to her chest says otherwise. "Be careful... Normal attacks won't work on these Shadows. And all of our instruments have been destroyed..." She looks over at the now useless motorcycle with disappointment.

"Just stay still!" he insists. "Besides..."

_"I can see."_

Minato, who's tending to Yukari, sits upright at the sound of Fuuka's voice in his mind. She's speaking to them telepathically.

_"I... I can sense these monsters' weaknesses somehow..."_

With Akihiko's help, Mitsuru sits against the wall, between Ryuu and Yoshioka. "I understand now... Yamagishi, it appears as though you'll be taking my place. Can you assist the others?"

_"I'll do my best!"_

Akihiko crackles his knuckles, prepares his gloves, and bounces on the balls of his feet; he's ready to fight. "Stay back, Mitsuru. You guys, too; we'll take care of them." At Akihiko's urging, Minato, Junpei, and Ami regroup and confront the Shadows, who shriek in delight and excitement.

_"I'll try to find the enemies' weaknesses for you."_ There's a long pause, with the party waiting with baited breath, before she speaks again. _"They're two different Arcana. One's the Empress, and the other's the Emperor. Their weaknesses are opposite; one is weak to physical attacks and the other is weak to magic attacks. I'm not sure about the specifics, though."_

It isn't too difficult to figure out which one is which. The Empress is a large, pot-bellied Shadow in a blue dress and a green cloak; clutched in one of its hands is a blue staff. The Emperor, the one who grabbed Mitsuru, is tall-bodied and thin, with a large red cross on its torso and a red sword held in its hand. "We're just gonna have to figure out which one's weak to what by testing it," Minato says, drawing his sword. He dashes towards the Emperor and slashes at it, but his blade bounces right off the body; the Emperor seems to laugh at him.

"No physical attacks for that one, then..." Ami poises the shotgun on her shoulder, turns towards the Empress, and pulls the trigger. That one bullet is enough to knock the Empress onto its back.

"Good work, Ami-chan!" Junpei cheers, pumping his fist into the air. "Don't let up now!"

"Okay!" She pulls out her Evoker and summons Shiranui, a white wolf with orange markings and a shield on its back wrapped in fire. "The Emperor!" Her Persona uses a weak fire spell, which is enough to hit the Emperor's weakness and force it to the ground as well. Both Shadows roll around helplessly on the ground, still too stunned by the attacks to get up, and Ami looks expectantly at Minato. "We should strike now, Minato-senpai!"

He acquiesces with a simple, "Right."

"Let's do this!"

They all go in for an all out attack, striking and pounding away at the enemies. Even if they're on the ground, however, they're strong enough to put up a fight, and Minato finds himself on his rear several times before the Shadows are back on their feet. "That was rough," he mutters as he dusts off his pants. "Fuuka, how are we doing?"

_"That was a really strong attack," _she replies, amazed. _"Another one of those and they should be defeated. They're getting weaker."_

He can tell by the way they're both hunched over. "Alright, let's finish this."

Junpei swings his sword at the Empress like a baseball bat, managing not only to knock her over, but send her tumbling several yards away. "One more!"

"I've got this." Akihiko puts the Evoker against his forehead and confidently pulls the trigger, summoning Polydeuces to strike the Emperor with an effective lightning spell. "Time to finish them off." Minato doesn't even have to give the go ahead; everyone dashes in at the same time, using what's left of their strength and energy to attack the Shadows. Both the Empress and Emperor scream, try to throw them back like they'd done previously, but it's not enough. When Minato and the others back off, breathing heavily and sore, the Shadows are already starting to dissolve.

"That was... a lot easier than I thought it was gonna be," Junpei says, heaving, as he takes a couple steps back. The defeated Shadows meld into the floor, becoming one with the tower. "Shit... I'm beat."

Fuuka's Persona disappears, but she continues to be on the look out. "Are there more of them...?"

"Don't worry," Akihiko says reassuringly, "it's over."

"Fuuka." Natsuki's plea reminds them all that she's there. "You..."

Fuuka faces her with some reluctance, but she still manages a smile. (Admittedly, Minato's impressed. He's never been too fond of bullies, even if he's never really delt with them personally.) "Are you alright...?" Just as Natsuki nods in confirmation, Fuuka collapses to her knees, the emotional and physical fatigue finally bringing her down. "Oh..."

"Fuuka!?"

"It's alright." Mitsuru is on her feet now, standing beside Fuuka. "She's just exhausted."

That answer doesn't seem to be enough for Natsuki, who shakes her head insistently. "Fuuka... Fuuka, I... I'm so sorry..." A sob gets caught in her throat and the tears well in her eyes desperately. "I'm so sorry...! I shouldn't have... I can't believe I... I'm so, so sorry...!"

Ryuu lightly taps Mitsuru on the shoulder. "This is touching and all, but... What are we gonna do about Natsuki? She saw the Dark Hour and the Shadows..."

"Don't worry," Akihiko says, overhearing. "She's not like us, so she won't remember any of it. The good news is, she didn't fall victim to the Shadows, even though she obviously heard their call. She should be safe from now on."

"But that means she'll forget Fuuka saved her life, right?" Yukari asks, discontent. "That doesn't seem fair..."

Mitsuru looks on at Natsuki, who's still apologizing and crying. If nothing else, she appears to be genuinely sorry, and that's enough for Fuuka — so it should be enough for them. "Actually, I don't think it'll matter. I think she's learned her lesson."

Yoshioka staggers to her feet with Minato and Junpei's help. "Alright, alright... Let's get out of here. The Dark Hour's gonna be over soon anyway, right?"

Mitsuru nods. "Itou is correct. We should take our leave... Besides, Yamagishi needs her rest."

* * *

Outside of Tartarus, Shuya manages to support both Phil and Sasaki, whose bodies weigh heavily on his shoulders. "Thank you, Shuya," Kanzeon says, still trying to catch her own breath as she presses a bandage to her bleeding side. "That was... That was incredibly dangerous. I hadn't expected that to happen."

"That was dumb as fuck," Sasaki hisses.

Shiori helps her brother, who looks worse for wear. "So, I'm guessing the plan didn't really work," she says as she dabs at the cut on his forehead. A harsh glare from Sasaki is answer enough. "And you didn't stop them? I peeked inside earlier... Looks like they got the full moon Shadows again."

Phil curses. "It was a mistake on my part for thinking that a mere interception would be enough to stop them. They're much more powerful than I'd expected... It certainly helps them having new members as well. We'll have to regroup and plan things out for the next time... Ah, but until then, we need some patching up."

"We're lucky to have Shuya," Kanzeon says. "He could sense where all of us were; without him, we'd probably be stuck in Tartarus for a while like Fuuka Yamagishi."

"Can't believe a fucking Shadow ambush got me," Sasaki mutters. His condition is the worst of all; his face is red from the blood coming out of his head wound, his arms are visibly bruised, and he can't stand upright on one his knees. "On top of that, they're all celebrating about getting all of us this much closer to death. Idiots."

Phil manages to stand on his own, though he pats Shuya on the back in thanks. "They don't know what we're doing. We'll have to educate them."

"Oh yeah? Isn't that what we tried to do? Great fucking idea, genius."

Phil narrows his eyes at Sasaki, but inwardly he has to admit that the peaceful way may not be the best way. Forceful action may be necessary.

* * *

_Closing Song:_ "It's Time" - Imagine Dragons

* * *

I think this is the longest chapter so far? Eeek, my bad. I didn't expect it to be this long, haha.

Anyway, I'm going to scan the pictures soon, hopefully. Also, the next chapter will be light and fluffy and fun. Hopefully. (Sometimes things don't go as planned.)

**xx, **der kapitan


	13. yukari takeba: suspicious sally

Author's Note:

For those who haven't checked yet, I've uploaded all my sketches of the OCs to deviantart. At some point or another, I want to draw scenes from the story and/or body shots... But I'll make no promises because we all know how terrible I can be at keeping them. ; A;

I'm not sure how in/frequent updates will be, because July is coming up and I have a research paper/final project to work on, and I really need to put some time and effort into them. I'll try not to totally fall off the planet, but even if I do I'll be back, rejuvenated and (mostly) alive after July 16!

* * *

**L'Effet Papillon  
**"The Butterfly Effect"  
a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

Chapter Twelve  
Yukari Takeba: Suspicious Sally

_I will burn my dread  
__I once ran away from the god of fear  
__and he chained me to despair_

* * *

The next couple of days call for relaxation. Aside from the fact that everyone in SEES is mentally and physically exhausted from the Full Moon excursion, Fuuka is recovering in the hospital and the senpai are tending to her, which means no Tartarus. Not that Minato is going to complain; Tartarus is the last place he wants to be after the battle with the two larger Shadows. Junpei complains every now and then because he "wants to get stronger," but Minato can tell that it's all for show; the capped teen still limps around from a wound inflicted by the Emperor. "Let's just take a break until Fuuka gets better," he says one day when they're all in the lounge. "We shouldn't push it."

Yoshioka exhales a dramatic breath as she sinks into the couch. "I'm with you on that, cutie."

Yukari takes the seat in between Junpei and Yoshioka, something akin to worry etched on her brow. "Hey, I was thinking," she begins, her voice low. "Do you think Mitsuru-senpai saved Fuuka because it was the right thing to do? Or was it just because she's a Persona-user and we need her...?"

Her initial response in silence. Yukari's disdain for and suspicion towards Mitsuru is no secret, but it's the first time she's ever voiced her concern to all of them like this. No one's quite willing to agree or disagree, their continued refusal to talk has her both steaming and thoroughly embarrassed.

Ryuu is the first one to answer, after a long period of recovery. "Of course she did it 'cause it's the right thing to do," he insists, looking offended in lieu of the absent redhead. "I know it seems like Mitsuru-senpai is cold, but it's not like she doesn't care about others. I could tell she was worried about Fuuka."

"Yeah, but you're not exactly unbiased, Ryuu," she replies.

"And you are?" he retorts, his cheeks red.

"Alright, alright, children," Yoshioka cuts in, sensing World War III on the horizon. "Neither of you are very unbiased. I mean, c'mon, Yukari-chan, we can all sense your seething boiling anger the second Mitsuru-senpai walks into the same room as you—"

"That's not true!"

"— and Ryuu, you might as well slap a sticker onto your forehead that says, 'I have a giant huge uncensored crush on Mitsuru-senpai'—"

"N-no I don't...!"

"So obviously neither of your opinions count," she concludes, unwilling to listen to their arguments. "I haven't known Mitsuru-senpai for very long, so I can be more objective. Honestly, I think it's a mixture of both. She knows that Fuuka can be an asset to the team, and she really wants to beat these Shadows or whatever, but I think she was legitimately concerned. _How_ concerned might be the real question, but..." Yoshioka shrugs, unsure of how else to approach the Kirijo mystery.

"Exactly," Ryuu cuts in, mildly miffed. "You guys don't _know _Mitsuru-senpai. She looks like she's all business all the time, but that doesn't make her a robot. That's just the way she was raised, you know?"

"I'm sure Mitsuru-senpai has good intentions," Ami agrees. "She's hard to read, but like Ryuu said, that's probably just how she was raised. She didn't exactly grow up with a normal childhood like the rest of us."

"And what about you, Minato-kun?" Yukari asks, turning to him with a suddenness that startles all of them. Until now, he'd been silent, but obviously she was having none of it. "What do you think about Mitsuru-senpai?"

_"This is a dangerous question,"_ he thinks grimly. If he disagrees, then Yukari will be all over demanding to know why, and if he agrees, he risks upsetting the balance. Aside from Yukari, who's as suspicious as a paranormal investigator, everyone else seems to think there's nothing wrong. He'd be lying if he said he thinks Mitsuru is completely innocent, but he doesn't have any solid evidence against her. Then again, Yukari probably doesn't, either...

"You're scaring him, Yukari," Yoshioka points out.

Junpei, whose opinion apparently matters to no one, just snickers. "It's like he's under fire."

Finally realizing how intense her stare and interrogation has been, Yukari backs down. "S-sorry... It's just something that's been bugging me for a while... I guess in the end all that matters is whether or not Fuuka wants to join us... I shouldn't've brought it up out of the blue."

Minato breathes a small sigh of relief. Barely dodged that one.

* * *

The school vendor offers a lot of different types of bread, but you can never get them in the same day. It's a pretty smart business plan, Minato thinks, since he keeps him coming back every day to see what the bread of the day is. (He also thinks that his aunt would weep if she knew this is what he's spending his money on, but what she doesn't know won't hurt her.) "I'll have one crab bread," he says to the vendor.

"Sorry, hun, I just sold the last one," she replies.

_Curses._ The system has beat him again.

Minato sighs as he pockets his wallet, unwilling to have anything else for lunch, when a familiar face hands him a packaged piece of bread — _crab bread_. "You look like it's Christmas," Zain says with a laugh. "I grabbed two, so you can have this one. I don't really like crab bread, anyway... I feel like seafood and bread isn't a very good combination."

Despite his opinion, Minato is absolutely delighted to have it. "Thanks, Zain." They wander over to a bench in the hallway and take a seat beside each other. "What've you been up to? I haven't seen you around much lately." Wow, the seafood aftertaste is really potent... Maybe Zain was right.

"My grades aren't too great and my parents aren't happy about it, so I've been doin' a lot of studying in the library and stuff," he admits, shoulders drooping. "I still don't know how to write Japanese really well, either, so they're getting me a tutor... Until finals, I'm gonna be spending my Sundays with them." As if he's already experiencing the pain and boredom, Zain groans and slumps down in his seat. "They heard how great Mitsuru-senpai is and how she's at the top of her class, and they wanna hire her... There's no way I could do it, though."

Minato resists the urge to laugh, as he's suddenly reminded of Yukari. "You don't like her? Mitsuru-senpai, I mean."

"It's not that I don't _like_ her..." His body language says otherwise. "She's just... I dunno. She kinda intimidates me, and I feel like she's super uptight. We wouldn't get along."

His thoughts briefly turn back to Ryuu, who more or less worships the ground Mitsuru walks on. Then again, she has a lot of admirers, secret or otherwise. She's definitely beautiful, and her intelligence and leadership skills are something to admire as well, but she's not really the kind of girl he'd go after. "Hm, yeah, I understand," Minato says, nodding. "She'd definitely be able to help you out with writing, but she's probably really busy, too. If you want, I can tutor you."

Zain's hazel eyes light up at the offer. "Yeah? You would?"

"Sure. I won't be free every Sunday, but we can make up days we miss during the week." Track, student council, music club, and fashion club remind him of his other obligations, but he pushes them out of his mind. What's another thing to do?

"Cool!" Zain says, sitting up and looking much brighter than before. "I'll let my parents know. I wasn't _actually_ planning on getting a tutor, but if it's you, I'm totally cool with it. They'll finally get off my back, too..." He pulls out a cell phone and punches in a quick message, probably something about Minato's offer, then puts it away. "By the way, I heard Yamagishi-senpai's returned home."

There's some slight coloration in Zain's cheeks that's pretty easy to decipher, but Minato decides against mentioning it. "Yeah. It's a good thing she's safe."

"I can't believe she went missing... Some people thought she was dead, too." He cringes. "I wonder what really happened, though?"

Mitsuru is probably still coming up with some extravagant make-up story to keep parents, teachers, and students happy, but Minato's never been good with all that political stuff. (Seriously, though, he's eighty percent sure that she's still the technical leader of SEES, considering everything that she does.) "I'm not sure," he answers lamely. "But it's a good thing she's safe.

Zain bobs his head in agreement. "Yeah, you're right..."

They don't linger on the topic of Fuuka Yamagishi much longer, and the lunch period comes to an end.

* * *

The next day, Akihiko sends out a group text to make sure that everyone is in the lounge that evening. ▶ _Fuuka is being released from the hospital. We'll talk to her this evening. Come to the command room as soon as you get back._

Everyone is seated in the center of the room, with all eyes on the mint-haired female. "You're Fuuka Yamagishi, right?" Ikutsuki asks. As if being addressed in class, she quickly stands up and nods, but Ikutsuki chuckles and motions for her to take her seat again. "Relax, there's no need to be nervous." He turns his gaze to everyone else. "Everyone, you did an excellent job uncovering the truth. I also wanted to let you know... The three girls have all regained consciousness."

Fuuka sighs. "What a relief..."

"From what I understand, they each came to school around midnight and waited for the security guard to leave. They were attacked by Shadows near the gate, as the Dark Hour began... However, the facts became twisted because of rumors concerning a ghost story."

All the underclassmen exchange a look, with Junpei actually grimacing at the memory. Getting suckerpunched in the middle of an alleyway isn't something that can easily be forgotten. "Yeah," he mutters, "good thing we cleared that up, huh?"

"I knew right from the beginning that it wasn't a ghost," Yukari insists confidently.

Junpei ogles her. "Are you kiddin' me!? You're the one who—"

"Let's not start this again," Ami cuts in sweetly. She laughs softly, trying to ease the tension, but the share glare between Yukari and Junpei is too strong to effectively stifle. "W-well, what really matters is that everyone is safe."

"It's all my fault," Fuuka laments, drawing them out of their argument. "I'm so sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?" Yoshioka asks. She looks thoroughly confused, and perhaps a bit indignant. "_You_ were the victim."

Fuuka sits back, startled. "But I made so many people worry."

"Don't think like that," Ryuu says. "None of this was your fault."

"And aside from that," says Mitsuru, "we could have lost that fight if you weren't there. You saved our lives. You should feel good about yourself." She offers a small, sweet smile that Minato has never seen. Maybe the others are right, he thinks, and Yukari's worrying about nothing. "You have a special power that you can use to help others." Everyone can see where this is going, and out of the corner of his eye, Minato sees Yukari shift in her seat. "This special power is called Persona. You could be a tremendous help to us. Will you lend us your strength?"

Fuuka's eyes widen at the realization. Her mind and memories reel, as though she's searching for some evidence of Mitsuru's comments. _Real strength_, she thinks. She has real strength, and these people _need_ her. "You're asking me to join you...?" she asks, still disbelieving. She looks to Mitsuru, who nods with no hesitation, then to the others, who all smile at her encouragingly.

"You know," Yukari cuts in, not to anyone's surprise, "we're not trying to pressure you, so if you need some time to think about it..."

"I'll do it," Fuuka says immediately, standing up. There is resolve in the way she holds herself. "I'll help you!"

That definitely wasn't the answer Yukari was expecting, and not that quickly either. "A-are you sure? If you join, you'll have to live here..."

"That's fine. I'd rather live here than at home anyway..."

"We really appreciate this," Mitsuru says, absolutely pleased. "We'll have the school talk to your parents, to resolve any issues."

"Thank you."

"Wait a minute," Yukari says, "aren't we dragging her into this a bit fast?"

Fuuka doesn't look the least bit bothered, and perhaps that's what's bothering Yukari the most. "Um, it's okay, really," she replies.

"We have a couple more things on the agenda to address," Ikutsuki says, causing Yukari to close her mouth and Fuuka to sit back down. "First, those special Shadows showed up again. We still don't know where they're coming from. But, Akihiko is right about one thing... Their appearances seem to coincide with the full moon. We'll take that into consideration from now on."

"It's a big advantage for us to know when to expect them," Akihiko says. "Now, on the day of the fight, we'll be ready to get in the ring."

"Yes, now we can start going in with some preparation... The final matter I want to discuss..." Ikutsuki looks at Akihiko, Minato, Ami, and Junpei. "Akihiko told me that you had a run-in with another group of students. They're obviously aware of the Dark Hour and had some knowledge about Shadows. Is there anymore information that you could gather about them?"

"They were saying something about us bringing death to everyone," Minato says, recalling bits and pieces of information. After being sucked into the Dark Hour, a lot of his memory about the confrontation became garbled. Then the whole thing with Fuuka and the Full Moon Shadows more or less made him forget about them. "Everything they were talking about was pretty confusing."

"They seemed pretty desperate," Ami says. "I don't know why, but..."

Junpei shrugs. "I just thought they were kinda crazy."

Akihiko gives him _that_ look (the how-necessary-was-that-comment-and-you-being-here look) before turning back to Ikutsuki. "We didn't have much time to talk before the Dark Hour came."

"I see..." Ikutsuki rubs his chin thoughtfully. "Well, I suppose there isn't much more we can do without more information... What did you say their names were?"

"Phil Luciano, Sasaki Kusanagi, Kanzeon Shinko, and Akio Kobayashi. They said there are two more, but they weren't there."

"Alright... Well, I'll see what I can find." He sighs, then offers a small, wry smile. "Until then, stay on your feet, and keep an eye out. They are your classmates, after all."

* * *

Minato can sense the strange boy's presence before he even opens his eyes. "You've prevailed yet again." There he is, sitting at the edge of his bed like that's his natural place. "But, it's funny... It doesn't seem so certain, considering the vast potential within you. As a matter of fact, your power seems to have changed quite a bit. hey, if you don't mind, can I be your friend? I'm very curious about you... Is that okay?"

He's less annoyed and more sympathetic, even if it is Dark Hour o' clock and he's been short of sleep lately. There's something oddly melancholic about the boy, with his wide blue eyes and translucent skin. "Sure," Minato says. "Fine with me. What's your name?"

The boy blinks, like he's never been asked for his name before. Maybe he hasn't. Maybe Minato is his first friend. "Name...?" he mumbles to himself. "Oh, I see... I need a name. My name is..." He pauses for a moment, as if unsure. Perhaps it's been too long and he can't remember it. "Pharos. You may call me that if you wish."

"Alright, Pharos." The name is familiar on his tongue, though Minato is sure he's never heard of it before.

He feels a tug in his chest, drawing him towards his new friend.

"It's getting late, so I'll go now. I'm already looking forward to our next meeting." Pharos smiles, then vanishes.

* * *

Mitsuru has rejoined the front lines and Fuuka provides them with back up, which gives Minato more variety in choosing his parties. This also is a bit of a problem, because everyone wants a piece of the action and he can only take three people with him. "But you came with us the last four times," he tells Junpei, who falls back on his heels with a look of disappointment. "Yoshi hasn't gone up in a while, and Mitsuru-senpai is still feeling pretty good from coming back... You can come next time."

"C'mon, man," Junpei wails. "We're bros, aren't we? Just take me along one more time... I'm really feelin' good today!"

"That's what you've been saying for the past week," Yukari retorts from the corner where she's polishing her bow. "And you almost twisted your ankle two nights ago. Don't you think you should take a break?"

"I don't need a break!"

Another argument is about to break out; he can feel it in the air. "I already decided on taking Yukari, Mitsuru, and Yoshi," he says with finality. "Sorry Junpei, but you're gonna have to sit tonight out."

Junpei sits back with a pout. "Yeah, alright. You're the leader." There's something awfully bitter in his tone, but there's no point in admonishing him for it now; if anything, it'll just make him more testy. "Pfff, you just wanna get all the ladies to yourself. Smooth move..."

Though the comment doesn't bother him, he looks around at the other girls, who are definitely red in the face. Minato can't tell if they're angry at Junpei or if they actually believe Junpei and are now doubting him. "Right, uh, let's just going," he says, trying to escape the suddenly hostile environment. He turns to Fuuka, who's also looking at him dubiously. _"Damn you, Junpei."_

"Are you ready to go?" Fuuka asks.

"Yeah." The four of them walk over to the teleporter near the entrance. "We're almost to the next barrier, so we should finish up the last couple of floors tonight. Are there any big Shadows in the way?"

Fuuka summons Lucia and closes her eyes as she scans the floors of Tartarus. "One big one, yes," she answers. "It's pretty strong, but you guys should be able to beat it. You've all gotten a long stronger this past week."

Minato smiles. "You've been a lot of help. Thanks."

"Yes," Mitsuru affirms, "keep up the good work, Yamagishi."

While Fuuka beams at them, they step on the transporter to quickly access the last floor they were on. "Alright," Minato says, "let's do this quick."

* * *

Sundays are supposed to be days off and a time for relaxation, though the amount and intensity of Yoshioka's shopping says otherwise. "It's like getting in an extra work out," Ami comments, trying to smile despite the blisters on her feet. She should have known sandals were a bad idea... "We should have invited the boys. Junpei-senpai is always talking about how he wants to get stronger."

"I feel like he'd just be complaining our ears off," Yukari says, snorting. "Besides, there's nothing wrong with a girls' day out, right? We gotta stick together!"

"Yeah," Yoshioka agrees, "though I don't know if this really counts since we're missing someone..." All of the dorm's female occupants are present except for one: Mitsuru Kirijo. "I would have asked her if she wanted to come with us, but she kinda scares me."

Fuuka giggles. "Really? I didn't think anyone intimidated you, Yoshi-chan."

"I'm not ashamed to admit that she is the exception," she says.

"Still, I feel bad that we didn't invite her," Ami says.

"She's probably doing more important things anyway," Yukari says. "I mean, the Kirijo Company has been in the news a lot lately. She's going overseas after she graduates so that she can learn how to run the company later. She's been in the spotlight more than usual..."

Yoshioka grimaces. "I don't even know what I'm doing tomorrow, and she's getting ready to inherit a company. It's like we live on totally different planets. C'mon, you guys can't lie and say that doesn't intimidate you, too. I don't even know how to talk to her."

"Like Ryuu-senpai said, Mitsuru-senpai _is_ human," Ami reminds them. "I feel like the reason why so many people are intimidated by her and scared of her is because they don't really see her like one of us. She's a teenager like us. She probably has the same problems as we though, even if it doesn't seem like it."

After a moment of silence, Yoshioka says, "Wow, that's really deep, Ami. If looking Mitsuru-senpai in the eyeballs didn't take all the courage I have, I'd totally consider it."

"Well, it's the thought that counts..."

As they walk around Port Island station, stopping to check movie times and peek into the flower store ("I need some new roses for my room, I think," Yukari murmurs), two familiar figures emerge from the alleyway. "Hey," Hiyu says, nudging Shinjiro with his elbow. "It's your friends. Why don't you say 'hi' to them?"

Shinjiro actually contemplates smacking the indigo-haired teen. "They ain't my friends," he replies, a little too gruffly. It's not totally untrue, either; he barely knows these girls. One he's familiar with because she keeps running into him in sketchy places, and the other he knows of only because everyone thought she was dead two weeks ago. "And the last thing I need is them thinking otherwise, so let's get out of here."

Hiyu snickers. "You know, I used to be pretty anti-social, too, but the best way to get out of that shell is by putting yourself into uncomfortable situations."

"'Used' to be anti-social," Shinjiro snorts.

"Yeah! I'm a changed man!"

"As if."

"Oh, look!" Shinjiro doesn't even have to look to know that the voice is being aimed in his direction. "It's Shinjiro-senpai." He winces at the girlish murmurs that follow, and he very nearly darts off back into the alleyway when the group approaches him. He'd been hoping that the run-in behind the station would be the last time he saw them. "I didn't think we'd run into you again," says Yukari. "Yoshi and the others said you're the one who saved them that one night."

"It's kind of ironic that you're seeing each other now, same place as last time," Hiyu comments, amused. "Though the circumstances are different... No thugs planning on beating the shit out of you today."

"Hm, I dunno, I spot a couple thugs who might," Yoshioka jokes.

"Hey, hey, is that anyway to address the man who saved your life?"

Yoshioka snickers, though it's pretty obvious that she's avoiding Shinjiro's eyes. The whole disaster was pretty embarrassing, especially since she was the one responsible for Junpei getting socked. "Whatever. Oh, I guess you guys don't know this guy, yet. Hiyu Aki... something or other. His last name's a mouthful." Hiyu looks moderately offended (even if it is true), but Yoshioka ignores him. "This is Yukari, Fuuka, and Ami. Fuuka, the brooding one is Shinjiro. He's the one who helped us out and cleared up some rumors about you."

Fuuka turns to Shinjiro with a gracious expression that actually makes him blush. "Thank you very much, Shinjiro-senpai!"

"H-hey, you don't gotta do that," he mutters. "It ain't a big deal..."

"They were able to save me with your help," Fuuka says, insisting despite his embarrassment.

"He's secretly a good Samaritan," Hiyu chimes in.

Shinjiro punches him roughly on the shoulder, earning a grunt. "Shut up. That's enough outta you." He readjusts his beanie, shoves his hands into the pockets of his pea coat (_"Isn't he hot under that?"_ Yoshioka can't help but wonder), and stalks off. "I'm outta here."

Hiyu rubs the offended area, glaring at Shinjiro's retreating back. "He can be a dick. Geez, he doesn't pull his punches... Well, I better make sure he doesn't get into any trouble. See you ladies later." He offers a small wave to the girls before jogging to catch up with his friend.

"They both seem nice," Ami chirps once they're gone.

"Nice?" Yoshioka asks. "More like bi-polar. And dumb."

"But Shinjiro-senpai _did_ save you, Junpei, and Minato-kun," Yukari reminds her. "There's nothing wrong with being grateful for a good deed."

Fuuka nods. "He's a little rough around the edges, but I can tell he's good. Besides, didn't you say that he and Akihiko-senpai are friends?"

"Yeah, they were at the hospital together that one day," Yukari says. "_And_ he was the one that saved you when you woke up in the Dark Hour, Yoshi."

Yoshioka's face falls at the memory. On top of being a total blubbering mess, she'd been scared witless, and recalling the entire scene was completely unpleasant. The fact that Shinjiro had to be the one to pick her up was demeaning. "Yeah, yeah, alright... I guess he's okay.

"Don't get too excited about it," Yukari teases.

Yoshioka glares at her briefly before looking at the large clock in the center of the plaza. "Shoot, the movie's gonna start soon. We should go and get good seats."

* * *

Minato catches Makiko after school ends, just before she can make it through the front doors. "Where're you headed?" he asks as he closes his shoe locker.

She holds up a light pink envelope, grinning brightly as she does so. "I'm sending a letter to Takeru. He's in California right now, so I'm not sure when he'll get it... I want to send it today, so hopefully it'll make it before the weekend. It's his birthday next week!"

They head towards Paulownia mall, where there's a mailbox right outside her work. "Is it hard spending so much time apart?" he asks.

"Oh, definitely," she answers. "It gets a little lonely sometimes, but his family's there to help, and my friends, too." Makiko smiles warmly at him in appreciation. "I know it's weird because we're both young, but I know we can do it."

"You love him?"

She blushes profusely at the forward question. "Y-yes," she answers, as confidently as she can. "I didn't think it would happen, at first. I mean, Takeru's kind of scary-looking. Not that's he's ugly or anything! He just glares at people a lot and he looks like he's going to beat up everyone." Though she laughs, Minato can't help but think about how off-putting that sounds. "But he's really sweet, and... Well, I love him." The grin she wears stretches from ear to ear, tugging her cheeks upwards in a way that he's sure is going to hurt later.

"When's the next time he's gonna be home?" Minato's not sure why he asks, because he doesn't really want to meet this scary guy, but it wouldn't hurt to know more about this guy who's so important to his friend.

"Not for a couple months," she sighs. "Remember how he came home during Golden Week? I guess he wasn't supposed to, but he took time off anyway. So now he's making up for extra time, and he's not even really sure when he's coming back." They stop at the mailbox so she she can slip it in quickly; he notices a glint of longing in her dark green eyes as she lets it go. "After the United States, he has to hit up some places in South America. Negotiations take up a lot of time..."

Minato nods, even if he knows nothing about business or negotiations. His aunt's a businesswoman, but to be honest he _still_ has no idea what she actually does. All he knows is that she has to travel and move a lot, like Takeru. "Well, if you guys can make it through this, you can make it through anything, right?"

His comment seems to cheer her up. "Right! I hope you get to meet him one day. Oh, I'll have to invite Junpei, too; he's still kinda hurt that he didn't know I had a boyfriend... Although I really don't know how. I'm pretty sure I talked to him about Takeru before... You're gonna be on Tatsumi Port Island for a while, right?"

"Yeah," he says. "That's the plan."

* * *

_Closing Song:_ "It's Time" - Imagine Dragons

* * *

This wasn't as fluffy and fun as I planned it to be... Oops.

P.S. I am not changing Minato's name to Makoto Yuki. Hellz nah.

P. S. S. Out of curiosity, who's your guys' favorite character(s) from P3?

**xx, **der kapitan


	14. no use in crying over spilled ramen

Author's Note:

I am wasting away at home waiting for summer to end. I remember the days when I used to look forward to summer vacation…

Anyway, it was interesting to read all your favorite characters! The compliments on my portrayal of Yukari were really nice and made me blush too, haha. Yukari is actually one of my favorite characters; she's bratty and moody, but that makes her very realistic (especially for a high school girl), I think, and I love flawed characters. I'm also fond of Shinjiro, Akihiko, and Junpei. (I'm a sucker for the friendship of the trio, Junpei, Yukari, and Minato, I mean.)

To elaborate on Minato staying Minato and not Makoto, I will say that 1) I am deeply attached to Minato Arisato and I will probably never see him as Makoto Yuki, 2) As it is for Sayuko, it pisses me off (probably unnecessarily so haha) that they keep changing names of the protagonists, 3) _HE IS MINATO ARISATO DAMMIT, _4) I used to be a big _Rurouni Kenshin _fan and all I can think of is Makoto Shishio and that's just not kosher. Mostly it's just me being immature and kinda lazy 'cause I am not going through the story to replace his name.

But I digress.

Thank you all for reviewing and answering my questions and dealing with stupidity. I love you! (This is also a really long author's note and I'll be so pumped/impressed if you guys actually read through this entire thing.)

* * *

**L'Effet Papillon  
**"The Butterfly Effect"  
a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

Chapter Thirteen  
No Use Crying Over Spilled Ramen

_I will burn my dread  
__I once ran away from the god of fear  
__and he chained me to despair_

* * *

Although her music is beautiful and she plays piano like it's written into her genetics, Minato is ninety percent sure Shiori Kobayashi is giving him the stink eye, and that kind of detracts from her magnificent performance. He wishes he could play without looking at the sheet music the way she does, both because it's a skill he'd like to have as a musician and because her glare starts to get kind of painful. _"I think I'm actually sweating,"_ he thinks, clutching his violin hard. It takes all the concentration he has to actually focus on playing his part and not being terrified by this girl who suddenly hates him, but the recital comes to an end and Keisuke has nothing but compliments to offer them.

"That went a lot better than I thought it would!" Yoshioka says cheerfully as she packs up her cello.

"It was one of our best, I think," Fuuka says. "By the way, Minato-kun, you seemed a bit distracted." He inwardly curses; maybe he wasn't being as discrete as he thought. Then again, Fuuka's plays violin, too, so she was standing right next to him the entire time. It isn't _too_ weird that she noticed, especially considering how many times he had to wipe his sweaty palms against his pants. "I-I mean, it sounded really good, but..."

Minato steals a quick look around to make sure they're in the clear. "Say," he says, keeping his voice low, "what do you know about Shiori Kobayashi?"

Fuuka blinks, unsure of where his question is coming from. "Probably as much as you," she admits. "I know she's in our grade, but she's in another class. I'm not really sure which one, to be honest... Umm, I know she's friends with Yukari-chan, but I don't think they're very close. Why?"

"She was glaring at me the entire time," he says.

"Oh, she couldn't possibly have! I know I said I don't know her very well, but she's very quiet and timid. She's not the type of person who would do that." Fuuka looks like she really believes what she's saying, but Minato isn't convinced. The only person who's ever glared at him with that much conviction before was Yukari... Though, since they're apparently friends, that might be saying something. "She's pretty laidback, I think, but she might have just been focusing really intently."

"On my face," he murmurs.

"What was that?"

"Uh, nothing."

Ami walks up to them with a bounce in her step, even with her saxophone case weighing down her tiny body. "That was so much fun! We all sounded so good together, too. All that practice definitely paif off!" Noticing an awkward tension between Minato and Fuuka, her head moves from one to the other. "Umm, is something wrong?"

Before Minato can say no and diffuse the situation, Fuuka says, "Minato-kun thinks Shiori-san was glaring at him. Which I don't think is true because she doesn't seem like that kind of person. But I also don't know her very well."

"Oh, she definitely wouldn't!" Ami says. "We've hung out a couple of times, since she and Yukari-senpai are friends. She might seem a little cold at first, but she's just quiet. She's actually really sweet, you know. Maybe she was just really concentrating on playing right? This was her first recital where she got to play piano, I think."

Well, some people do just have intense stares, though he'd never beg Shiori as one of those people. There's more than what meets the eye, though. "Yeah, alright... I guess you're right," he acquiesces. As soon as one thing stops bothering him, however, another pops up. "By the way, her last name is Kobayashi, right?" They both nod. "Wasn't that the last name of one of the guys we ran into that one night? Akio?"

"They're related," Ami says, but she sounds a little weary now. Maybe she's making the connection, too. "He's older than all of us, a third year. We've talked a couple of times, because of Shiori-senpai, but..." She trails off, looking a little disturbed by how closely interconnected everything is. "Do you... Do you think she might be...?"

"We can't say for sure," Fuuka says. She looks worried, too. "We should tell Ikutsuki-san and Mitsuru-senpai, though. They might be able to find out more." She turns to Minato with a sympathetic smile. "Maybe she was glaring at you after all, Minato-kun. After what happened on the last Full Moon, with her brothers and his friends... O-of course, we don't know anything for sure yet." Except they basically do, because there's no way this can be just coincidence. Minato specifically remembers Phil talking about there being two other members; the likelihood of Shiori being one of them is pretty high.

Yoshioka comes over with the three of them still mulling over the issue. "You guys are still standing here?" she asks, snapping them out of their thoughts. "Geez, I thought you'd gone home without me or something. Hey, let's stop by Chagall on the way back! I really need some coffee."

"Great idea, Yoshi-senpai!" Ami chirps. "We can fill you in on some stuff there!"

She quirks an eyebrow. "What stuff?"

"It's a bit of a long story," Fuuka says, laughing softly.

Minato bobs his head seriously. "And it all started with Shiori Kobayashi glaring holes into me during the recital."

* * *

▶ _We're having another meeting tonight, on the fourth floor. Ikutsuki-san is coming by, and I guess he has something important to tell us. See you later._

Minato heads back to the dorm right after school, after getting Akihiko's text. _"It's probably about the Shadows... Maybe he found out something about the other kids, too."_ After telling Mitsuru about Shiori, she hadn't said anything much, though she promised to do some research on her and her brother. He'd run Phil once or twice since the confrontation, but the older male just smirked and kept on walking. None of them were willing to attack them during the day, apparently, which he was thankful for.

He approaches the dorm and spots Yukari and Fuuka outside on the steps, playing with a white dog. Upon further inspection, he notices that it has red eyes.

"Koro-chan," Fuuka coos, "give me your paw!"

Panting happily, it places its paw on Fuuka's outstretched hand, earning the praise of both girls. "Oooh, good dog!" Yukari cheers.

Minato walks closer, his steps eventually giving him away. "Oh, hi, you're back," Fuuka greets.

"Whose dog is this?" he asks, crouching down to scratch the dog behind the ears. He barks in thanks, nuzzling against Minato's hand, and Minato smiles; the last time he had a dog was when he was five, back when his parents were still alive.

Yukari shrugs. "He was just walking down the street."

"I've seen him sitting by the steps of the shrine, though," Fuuka says. "His name is Koromaru. Most people around here know his name."

Another dog suddenly runs over, its leash wagging uselessly behind it, and barks at them. A panting woman slowly follows, pleased that the runaway dog has finally come to a stop. "Oh goodness..." She takes a moment to catch her breath, when she notices Koromaru. "Oh... This dog still goes on walks all by himself?"

"What do you mean?" Yukari asks.

"He used to belong to the priest at Naganaki Shrine. Every afternoon the two of them went this way for a walk."

"Ah," Fuuka says, "that explains it..."

"Well," cuts in the passerby, "until the priest passed away."

"He passed away...?"

The way her eyes light up tells them that she's been waiting to tell this story for a while, and/or gossip is among one of her favorite pasttimes. "Oh, you haven't heard the story? It was about six months ago... The priest was hit by a car while walking his dog. He didn't survive. Ever since then, that dog sits patiently by the site of the accident. And he goes for a walk every day, just like when his owner was still alive." There's a moment of dramatic silence, until she checks her watch and jumps. "Oh shoot, I have to get along. My son will be back soon...!" She grabs her dogs leash and runs, dragging it along instead of the other way around.

_"Gossiping housewives,"_ Minato thinks as he continues to scratch behind Koromaru's ears. "Well, you're a very loyal dog, aren't you?" Koromaru barks, almost smiling, then ducks underneath his hand in order to trot away. "Must be time to get back to the shrine..."

"We should probably get going, too," Fuuka suggests. "The Chairman's coming today, right? We should get ready."

They head up the fourth floor, where everyone's already waiting. Minato takes a seat next to Junpei, who instantly groans and grabs onto his arm. "Dude, have you started studying for the Classic Lit test tomorrow?"

Minato blinks. "There's a Classic Lit test tomorrow?"

"That's it, we're screwed," he wails. "I'm gonna be up all night studying. You should join me, man. Maybe we'll soak up twice the amount of information if we do it together. C'mon, don't leave me hanging!" Although Minato's pretty sure that's not how studying or brain plasticity works, he agrees anyway. "Alright! Maybe we can get Yuka-tan and Yoshi-tan to join us..."

Ikutsuki enters the room a moment later, holding a steaming cup of coffee. "Hello, everyone. I wanted to let you know how my research has been going. This concerns those Shadows that have been appearing during full moons. I want you to listen closely; it might be hard to follow. Shadows can be divided into twelve categories, according to their characteristics. This, we've known for a while. It's like their class or order. ... Now, I've classified the special Shadows we've seen so far, and... It's simply fascinating!" Ikutsuki seems to get lost in his own thoughts and research, though that's hardly something new.

"And...?" Yukari urges.

"Oh, sorry." He grins sheepishly. "Ahem... Those four Shadows belong to categories I through IV, in order of their appearance! They may have looked different than the more common ones, but the classification scheme still applies."

"Is that something to be excited about?" Junpei asks.

It clicks in Fuuka's mind, though. "Oh, I get it... There's twelve in all... Either we haven't seen yet."

"That's exactly right, Fuuka!" Ikutsuki says. "You're quite sharp."

_"It's just math,"_ Minato wants to say, but Ikutsuki is glowing, and he'd feel bad bringing him down from that high because of common sense.

"Okay," Yoshioka says, "so what are they after?"

At this, Ikutsuki sighs, which is the universal sign for another road block. "That's a good question, and that's what we haven't figured out yet: their motive. They don't kill their prey; they feed on their minds. It can be considered predation, but is it really? Is there an underlying intent behind their behavior? The purpose of the Shadows as a whole... That's what we need to consider."

"This is interesting," Akihiko says, "but, no matter what, we still have to beat the rest of 'em."

Mitsuru nods. "I agree. That's about all we can do at this point."

"Eight more, huh?" Ami murmurs. "That's a lot..."

"According to the data, each one has been stronger than the last, so we better start training harder," Fuuka suggests.

Akihiko smirks. "We'll manage. We've got plenty of time."

"But what about Tartarus?" Yukari asks. "Why does it even exist?"

No one else seems to notice, but Minato catches the weary glances exchanged between Ikutsuki, Mitsuru, and Akihiko. _"They know something,"_ he thinks, though it doesn't shock him too much. They'd all known from the beginning that secrets were being kept hidden.

"By the way," Ryuu speaks up, "did you find out anything about those guys? The ones who cornered us during the last mission?"

Ikutsuki looks to Mitsuru, who shakes her head. "Unfortunately, there wasn't much information to be found. I couldn't find anything on them as a group, and the reason behind their movements is still a mystery to me..." She breathes a heavy sigh. "I'll have to do a little more research. You might be able to help me out as well, Yamagishi." Fuuka smiles, enthusiastic to help, and nods. "Individually, I was able to find some pertinent information, however. Phil Luciano has ties to the mafia, which requires some more investigation, I believe. As for the Kobayashi siblings... Well, it appears as though the younger sister is quite sick. She was born with a frail body and she often collapses from over exertion."

Those certainly don't seem like the ideal conditions to be part of Phil's group. "Maybe she's not actually with them," Ami suggests.

"Shiori and I are friends," Yukari says, mildly distressed. "She would never..."

"But we don't even know why they attacked us in the first place," Akihiko says. "They said something about us bringing everyone closer to death... What the hell was that about?"

"I don't know," Ami admits. "We didn't really get a chance to ask them what they meant... They really wanted to stop us, though... Do you think they know about the Shadows? The twelve big ones, I mean. Do you think they know about us trying to destroy them, and they want to stop us?"

"Why would they?" Junpei asks. "I mean, those things're destroyin' the city and eatin' people's minds! Isn't us killing them a good thing?"

"There's too much we don't know," Mitsuru says. "We'll have to find out as much as we can. They may be a threat to our mission."

"And what would we do if they are?" Minato asks.

Mitsuru hesitates to answer, though that's answer enough for everyone. In the end, she says, "I'm not sure."

* * *

It's almost July and the kendo tournament isn't until the beginning of August, but Ryuu is intent on winning this year, so he's using every practice to improve. "Good work," one of his teammates says, patting him on the shoulder. "You've gotten a lot better this year! Losing in the finals last year was a hell of a motivator, huh?"

Despite his grin, Ryuu winces at the memory. He can still vividly remember losing hit footing and getting struck on the shoulder, right at the end. He was so close to number one... "It's gonna be different this year, though!" he says. "I've been training on days off and during breaks, and I really think I can get it. Then again, Kenshin's gonna wanna protect his title, too..." Ryuu sighs, his shoulders dropping a little. "It's gonna be a rough one. I can tell."

His friend chortles. "Well, don't give up already. You've got, like, two months to get ready. Just don't slack off." He gives Ryuu a hard pat on the back, causing the blond to stumble forward, regardless of the padding of his uniform. "Maybe work on your balance, too... That's kinda what kicked you in the ass last time."

"Thanks for being sensitive," Ryuu mutters, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, I'm just here to help! I wanna see you at the top just as much as you wanna be there!"

"Fff, okay..."

"Oi, Ryuu, Takato, get over here," grunts the captain of the kendo club. They jog over to the center of the gym, where everyone is standing in a circle. "Good practice, guys. If all things go according to plan, we'll get to final again, and hopefully take it all home." He grins in Ryuu's direction, which does nothing to lighten the weight on his shoulders. "Let's do a couple more rounds before we leave, huh? Just to get in some extra practice before the weekend. Takato, you pair up with Shin. Ryuu... Hmm, why don't you go with Sasaki?"

Ryuu's entire body freezes. Sasaki Kusanagi is part of Phil Luciano's group. _"But he doesn't know that I know about him,"_ he thinks, trying to calm himself down. _"He probably still knows that I'm part of SEES, though... Shoot."_ He swallows thickly as Sasaki approaches him, pulling on his helmet. After the last full moon, Sasaki returned to school with notable bruises and bandages, and they still haven't gone away completely. _"Alright, just focus on this..."_

"Do you seriously wanna do this without your helmet?" Sasaki barks.

Flushing, Ryuu fumbles around with his helmet to put it on. "S-sorry... I just got distracted."

Sasaki scoffs. "Yeah? Maybe that's why you lost last year, 'cause you 'got distracted.'"

Being teased by Takato is one thing, but being mocked by Sasaki Kusanagi is a totally different matter. His purple eyes narrow as his grip on the bokken tightens, and he takes his stance across from his opponent. "Okay fine," he says, low and under his breath. "I'll take you on seriously." At the blow of the whistle, Sasaki steps forward with a simple downward strike — but Ryuu is quick, and he sidesteps in order to deliver a swift, but powerful hit to Sasaki's shoulder.

Sasaki stumbles back, surprised both by his pace and the forcefulness of his attack. "Good work, Ryuu!" the captain shouts. "But take it easy, eh? The last thing I need is you guys hurting yourself during a little extra practice." Even through the bars in the helmet, he can make out the expression on Ryuu's face, and he grimaces. _"I hate when he gets like this,"_ he thinks grimly. "Seriously. Take it easy."

"Alright, Senpai," Ryuu says. His knuckles are still white from his grip on the weapon.

"I can deal with you," Sasaki growls. "I wasn't ready last time, but I'm not gonna go easy on you."

"Fine."

* * *

It's the Dark Hour. A single teenager stands in the alley behind Port Island Station, confused and suddenly aware of his surroundings. "Huh...? How the heck did I—?" There are coffins all around him, standing where his friends were just moments ago, a slice of the green moon hangs in the air. "Wh-what the hell is this!?"

"Good evening."

He swivels around at the sound of the cold voice, which comes from behind him. There are two males and one female. The pale man with scraggly hair and tattoos addresses him with an eerie smile. "Are you surprised? Truth be told, we all visit this world every night."

The teenager swallows thickly. "Wh-what are you saying? Who the hell are you?"

The one in glasses steps forward, holding out a paper. "Didn't Mommy teach you any manners?" he asks with a sneer. "You haven't introduced yourself... Take a look. Name, age, address, etc... This is you, right?"

"Wha—!? Where did you get this!?"

He shrugs as he puts away the paper, tucking it into his suitcase. "Somebody's got a grudge against you, and they asked us to get revenge."

The teenager's eyes widen. "Revenge!? What kinda bullshit is this!? Who put you up to this!?"

"Can't tell ya. We're professionals."

"'Professionals'...? Oh shit... You mean, the rumors on the net are true!?" The second male takes a step back, allowing the first to move towards him, this time with a revolver. "Hey... W-wait," he stutters, eyes locking on the barrel of the gun. "I haven't done anything! Why me!? What'd I do!?"

"That is not our concern," the pale one says. "Your notion of right and wrong is irrelevant. My client's wishes are all that matter. People hear what they choose to hear, and believe what they want to believe." He raises the pistol, and with a shriek, the teenager tries to run away — but it's all in vain, and the bullet is quicker. "You squeal most magnificently!" he laughs. "Such raw emotion!" The revolver fires, and the sound of a body dropping is heard.

There's a moment of silence before the red-haired girl in a white dress speaks up. "He's not dead."

"Doesn't matter," mutters the second male. "We've held up our end of the bargain. Besides, tomorrow this will just seem like some random crime."

The first shrugs, unperturbed, as he puts away the gun. "If there's nothing else... I'm feeling rather tired."

A low groan comes from the fallen teenager, but none of them look back as they leave. The night continues.

* * *

"Have you heard of this revenge request website?"

Curious, Shuya stops behind the stairwell to overhear the girls' conversation. _"A revenge request website?"_ he repeats in his mind. _"That sounds like something that might be of interest. I shall collect further data."_

"Revenge request?" asks her friend. "What's that?"

"Well," she continues, "you can write the person's name you want to get revenge on, and bam! Mission accomplished. They say it's guaranteed successful, and completely anonymous."

"Seriously!? Give me the URL! Quick!"

"Well... It's just a rumor... I mean, I don't know the details... Why are you so desperate...!?"

"Huh? I'm not... I'm not thinking about revenge at all."

"... Okay..."

The girls walk away, though from his position, Shuya notices one of them acting a little weary. "Just a rumor," he murmurs. "Well, Phil did say that there's some truth in rumors..." He turns around to search for the group's leader, but the first person he sees is Kanzeon. "Oh, good afternoon, Kanzeon," he greets. "I was on my way to find Phil."

"Phil?" she asks, eyebrows raising in surprise. "Why?"

"I believe that I just overheard some information that may be of use," he says.

She smiles, still amused by his formal speech. He's been with them for several months now, but he still speaks like he's decades older than them. "Oh? That's great. I think Phil might actually be talking to one of his teachers right now... Since he's a third year, they're starting to pressure him about what's he's going to do after he graduates." Probably inherit the mafia and move back to New York, though that also depends on how things turn out here, with the Shadows and SEES. "We can meet up with the rest of the team after school, though."

Shuya nods. "Yes, that is the best plan of action. It would be wise to inform the others."

Kanzeon loops her arm through his and proceeds down the hallway with him, back towars their classroom. Even if he _is_ robot, she can't help but feel responsible for him. Maybe it's just that motherly intuition. (That apparently extends to robots...?) "It's like you're always working, Shuya," she comments. "Always on the look out, always hearing things—"

"Well, my hearing is superior to most humans'."

"... Yes, but that's not the point. What I'm saying is that you should take some time to relax and have some fun. I know that we have a lot of work to do, but you're playing the role of a teenager now." She gives his arm an affectionate squeeze then remembers he's made out of metal and probably can't feel anything. "Since you're here in school, and living among us now, there's nothing wrong with trying out some new things. Most teenagers have hobbies and passions and things to distract them from work and school. Try exploring."

Shuya blinks, and for a moment Kanzeon thinks the topic has gone right over his head. Much to her surprise, he nods. "Very well, Kanzeon. I shall do my best to 'explore' and 'try new things.'"

The way he says it makes it sound like he's undertaking another mission, but she figures there's not much more she can do about it. It's the thought that counts.

* * *

Hagakure is the best place for ramen on all of Tatsumi Port Island, though its many customers will argue for its superiority among all of Japan. Akihiko walks in, ready to eat some ramen, when he spots his old friend at the counter, already eating from a bowl. "Hi," greets the server, "how are you today? Just one?"

Akihiko takes the seat next to Shinjiro, though the latter doesn't acknowledge him. "I'll have what he's having." The server wanders off to prepare his meal, leaving the two of them alone. There are only a couple of others in Hagakure at the moment, though they're sitting in the corner and are completely oblivious to him and Shinjiro. "How can you eat the same thing all the time, without getting sick of it?" he asks, eyeing the large house special.

Shinjiro rolls his eyes. "Shut up. You always eat that protein shit."

"Hmph." He doesn't protest, though. Akihiko is notorious for his stash of protein bars and protein powder.

The server returns quickly with Akihiko's order and places it in front of him. "Here you go, one house special! Be careful, it's hot!"

"Thanks!" Akihiko says, positioning the bowl in front of him. He breaks the chopsticks and digs in, savoring the taste of the noodles and broth. Hagakure really does have the best ramen.

As he's eating, he steals a glance at Shinjiro, whose eyes are focused entirely on his meal. ".. You still haven't made up your mind?" he asks eventually.

At this, Shinjiro stops, and turns to Akihiko with a full blown glare that nearly knocks him off his seat. Oops, bad timing. "Is this what this is about?" he snaps.

"We've got nine members total, now. That's six more than when we started, just the three of us. Things have changed quite a bit since you left," Akihiko says. "We're more aggressive now."

His answer his short: "I'm not interested."

"Think about it, Shinji," Akihiko insists. "Don't let your power go to waste."

"My power ain't worth shit."

"Shinji!"

Shinjiro slams the chopsticks against the counter roughly. "I made up my mind a long time ago," he says sternly. It looks like it's taking all he has to keep cool. "I ain't going back."

It's a losing battle, Akihiko knows, but he's adamant and refuses to give up. "You have to let the past go," he says softly. "What's done is done. It's time you moved on."

Shinjiro scoffs. "You should talk."

"What?"

Shinjiro stands up quickly, deciding to bring an end to the conversation. _"Not that I wanted any of this to begin with,"_ he thinks bitterly. He pauses right outside the door, with Akihiko still watching him with an imploring look in his eyes. "Face it," he says, without turning towards him, "you're no different than me."

Shinjiro leaves, and Akihiko's left alone with his bowl of noodles. Defeated, he turns around and picks his chopsticks back up. _"That could have gone a lot better."_

* * *

_Closing Song:_ "It's Time" - Imagine Dragons

* * *

Here's a fast update because I don't wanna do my homework. Which I should probably do at some point today, but I have to train my army of Spartan children (aka teach karate), then go to my karate class, and ugh hassle...

By the way, I love hearing your opinions and comparing them! There are some hints of the pairings I decided on (am still deciding on cough cough), but do you see any specific ones? Are there any you'd like to see soon?

**xx, **der kapitan


	15. shirakawa boulevard

Author's Note:

I desperately need to be working on my research paper, but I've been working on it non-stop for the past five days, so I'm giving myself a short break by writing this. In other news, I also desperately need to work on the next chapter of _Ragnarok..._

I've drawn a couple more pictures of some OCs (Yoshi, Ryuu, and Ami so far), and they should be up by the time I post this. Hopefully, eh.

* * *

**L'Effet Papillon  
**"The Butterfly Effect"  
a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

Chapter Fourteen  
Shirakawa Boulevard

_I will burn my dread  
__I once ran away from the god of fear  
__and he chained me to despair_

* * *

It's the first time Shinjiro's been to school in a week, yet he's spent all day lounging on the roof. Hiyu comes up to visit him during one of his afternoon classes (after grabbing a nurse's pass, of course), only to find him half-asleep on one of the benches. "Dude, why do you even bother come to school if you're just gonna sleep up here all day?" he asks, laughing, as he takes a seat next to his friend. "They still count you as absent even if you're not on school grounds, you know. You gotta actually _be_ in class."

Shinjiro grunts. "What, are you my mother now?"

Hiyu tsks as he leans back. "I'm just trying to look out for you, buddy." Shinjiro doesn't answer, which isn't any different than usual. There's a tension in his body language, though, more than his usual hunched shoulders and guarded disposition. He's been acting strange since the last time he went out to eat at Hagakure. "You've been a lot moodier lately," he points out. "What's up?"

It's not like Hiyu to pry, so it must be glaringly obvious. "Aki's been bothering me about joining up with them," he answers, eyes towards the sky. The sun is high and there isn't a single cloud in sight; they're definitely in the middle of summer. Sweating underneath his pea coat, Shinjiro sits up to shed it off — so that instead he's in a black, long-sleeved turtleneck. _"I need to start wearing t-shirts,"_ he thinks dismally as he tries to push the sleeves up to his elbows. "How the hell are you still wearing that? It's burning out here."

Hiyu looks down at the trench coat that Shinjiro's trying to glare holes into, then shrugs. "The effect of weather on your body is all psychological."

Shinjiro facefaults. "No, I'm pretty sure that's not how science works."

Hiyu grins, like his being able to wear a trench coat in the middle of summer is some great and wonderful secret. "Anyway, back to Aki..."

"There's nothin' else to say," he replies, already sick of the topic. Akihiko has been hounding him to rejoin SEES for the past two years, though he's gotten a lot more insistent lately. They have more people, he says, a goal, something to strive towards. _"If they've got more people, why the hell do they need me back?"_ he asks internally, irritated and still on edge. Just the idea of holding that Evoker again and pulling the trigger... "He'll get the picture eventually."

"He hasn't gotten the picture for two years. Besides, Akihiko-senpai doesn't seem like the kinda guy to just give up."

Shinjiro snorts. "You got that right. Stubborn, always rushing into things, a crybaby..." He sighs and removes his beanie in order to run his fingers through his hair, which is slightly damp from sweat. Maybe he should retire the beanie for summer, too. "I ain't goin' back, though, no matter how much he begs." It sounds more like he's trying to convince him than anything, but Hiyu doesn't comment, primarily because he doesn't want a mouth full of fist. "I'm done with that shit. They're good enough on their own."

The corner of Hiyu's lips tilt upwards; it's almost a smile, but the emotion behind it is everything but happy. "I don't think that's true. I don't think _you_ think that's true. You worry about 'em."

"Tch." Grabbing his beanie and pea coat, Shinjiro heads towards the staircase.

"Where're you going?" Hiyu asks.

"Class."

He quirks an eyebrow. "I thought you weren't planning on going to class."

"Yeah, I wasn't plannin' on you lecturing me, either," he replies before throwing open the door. Shinjiro's never been good at hiding his irritation, much to the misfortune of those around him. Without explaining further, he storms down the stairs, towards the class that he's going to be twenty minutes late to. _"Anything's better than listening to that jackass prattle on."_

Once Shinjiro's long gone and Hiyu has the roof to himself, he sighs and lays back on the bench. "You can be a real dick sometimes, man," he mumbles up at the sky. But Shinjiro has always been clumsy with his words and emotions, so Hiyu knows better than to take it to heart. More than that, he can tell that this whole SEES and Persona business is really getting to his friend. He insists that he has nothing more to do with SEES, that Akihiko is just being annoying, and while the latter may be true he knows that the former isn't. For the rest of his life, as long as he has that power, SEES will be there. At least in the back of his mind.

Even if Shinjiro doesn't want help, as a friend, Hiyu is inclined to do so.

* * *

Minato and Yukari walk back to the dorm together which, he realizes, is strange because it's been a while since it's just been the two of them. Usually Junpei or Yoshioka tags along, or they run into Ami or Ryuu on the way back. "It's weird, just the two of us, huh?" she asks, voicing his thoughts. "It's also kinda nice. It's a lot more quiet without Stupei or Yoshi." Her smile tells him that she's fond of both of them, even the one she constantly harasses. "The dorm's gotten a lot livelier since you came."

"Everyone's having a good time," he agrees, unable to suppress his own smile. "It's hard sometimes, but... it's nice."

"And we're getting really far up Tartarus, too... At the beginning I didn't think it was possible." At the mention of Tartarus, Yukari's face scrunches up in thought. "Ya know, in about a week, there'll be another mission."

Has it already been that long since they rescued Fuuka? It feels like just yesterday. "Yeah," he murmurs, amazed by how quickly time passes. It really doesn't wait for anyone, does it?

"I wonder what it'll be like this time," she murmurs. "I guess we'll keep fighting until we defeat all eight that are left. But, what are we gonna do after that? I've been thinking about this for a while." She hesitates for a moment before continuing. "I wonder if Mitsuru-senpai is hiding something from us..."

Yukari's been very preoccupied with Tartarus and Mitsuru lately — more than usual. Minato admits that something is definitely off, and that the senpai are definitely hiding something from them, but it's really eating at the brunette. "We just have to trust them," he says. "She's been doing this longer than we have, I bet. I'm sure she knows what she's doing."

Her brow dips a little. "Yeah, I guess, but..."

"But?"

"F-forget it, I'm probably just over thinking things." She tries to shrug it off, the worry is evident on her face and body language.

_"Keeping it in isn't good,"_ he wants to tell her, but despite their friendship, Minato can feel a thin barrier between them. There's something holding her back from trusting him entirely, and he has to respect that she isn't ready to confide him yet. "Everything will be fine," he says, trying to reassure her. "Try not to think about it too much. The Shadows are our enemies, right? We just gotta focus on beating them."

Yukari tries to smile. "You're right, I guess..."

As they approach the dorm, they spot a familiar figure on the steps, with a couple suitcases in hand. Speaking to Hiyu Akinahanara is Mitsuru and Akihiko. "Is he... moving in?" Minato asks Yukari. She shrugs, unknowing, and they walk up to their senpai with curious expressions. "Hey, Akihiko-senpai, Mitsuru-senpai."

"Ah, you guys are back," Akihiko greets. "We've got some good news!" And really, that's enough to answer his question.

Everyone gathers in the lounge for dinner to welcome the newest member of SEES. Out of everyone there, Yoshioka is the most astounded. "_You_ have a Persona!?" she yells, pointing an accusatory finger at him. "Where have you been hiding all this time, then?"

"If you phrase it like that, you might make him feel unwanted," Ami says, laughing sheepishly. She turns to Hiyu, who grins as he lounges comfortably in the chair. "It's good to have you on board with us, Senpai!"

"Thanks," he returns cheerfully.

"You and Shinji hang out a lot," Akihiko says. "Did he...?"

"No, he's not the one who put me up to this," Hiyu says. There's a flicker of disappointment in Akihiko's eyes. "I came here on my own. You guys've got got a goal now, right? You know what you're doing? Well I'm sick of these damn Shadows, too, so I'll do what I can to get rid of 'em with you."

"Your sudden appearance here is very mysterious," Mitsuru remarks, "especially since it's been a long time since you've awoken to your Persona." What she says is shocking to the underclassmen. How long have they known Hiyu, and how long, exactly, has it been since he's been able to use his Persona? "But I won't ask any unnecessary questions you don't feel like answering." She smiles, the small quirk of the lips that always raises more questions than answers. "Welcome to SEES, Akinahanara."

Hiyu chuckles. "Thanks, I appreciate that."

Everyone gets up and slowly resumes with their evening schedule. Minato watches the newcomer out of the corner of his eye; still sitting comfortably in the chair, Hiyu simply pulls out a book and starts reading. In the shuffling and murmuring, he can barely make out Yukari and Fuuka's voices. He turns around to face them, but they're already halfway up the stairs.

* * *

"Sorry to bother you, Fuuka," Yukari says, sighing as she closes the meeting room door behind her. She didn't think that they would ever get this time to themselves.

Fuuka smiles, though she wrings her hands uncomfortably. "It's okay... What's on your mind?"

"Well, um..." She can remember the look in Minato's eyes from their earlier conversation, but quickly dismisses the image from her mind. "I was hoping you could do me a favor, with your skill... I was doing some research on our school, and I came across something strange. Ten years ago, a lot of students missed school for some reason. They were reported as absent, but I found some records that suggest it was something serious. Do you know anything about it, Fuuka?"

The small crease between Fuuka's eyebrow lowers. There's nothing accusatory in Yukari's voice at all, but she can sense the suspicion and weariness. It's not directed at her, but someone else. "Me? Um, not really..."

"I know it was a long time ago, but... doesn't it seem suspicious to you?" Fuuka bites her lip. A story like that _does_ sound pretty crazy, even with everything SEES is and has done. "From what I've heard, this isn't the first time Shadows have appeared."

Fuuka's eyes widen in realization. "Wait, are you saying...?"

"I don't know," Yukari admits, shaking her head. "But, I wonder... And I'm not trying to make trouble, but... Mitsuru-senpai acts kinda weird whenever someone asks questions about Tartarus."

"Does she?" Fuuka mumbles, mostly to herself. Of course Yukari is right — all of them know that she, Akihiko, and Ikutsuki are hiding something from the rest of them. It's obvious that they have some answers and are holding them back. But Fuuka has trusted them up until now because she'd been ignorant of the situation until recently. Still, Yukari has a point...

"I just wanna know what happened back then. If it doesn't have anything to do with the Shadows, then fine."

The resolve in Yukari's eyes is too strong to back down from. Prying might not be a good idea, especially for the trust of the team, but maybe this is something she has to do. If Mitsuru and Akihiko won't come out and say what it is, maybe it's their duty to pry and drag it out.

Fuuka nods. "I understand. Okay, I'll see what I can do."

* * *

The Guard meets on the roof of the school building for lunch. "The full moon is drawing close," Phil states simply.

"It is," Kanzeon hums in agreement as she unwraps her bento.

Mildly irritated by everyone's laidback attitude and still recovering from his injuries from the last full moon ordeal, Sasaki grunts. "So what the hell are we up here talking about, then?" he snarls, kicking at a loose pebble with his sneaker. "Do we actually have a plan of action, or are we winging it like last time? 'Cause if that's the case, then I'm out. I might as well the Shadows actually pluck out my eye ball."

Shiori, who'd been marooned to a "safe haven" with Shuya, leans in towards Sasaki for closer inspection. "They almost took out your eye?" she inquires, staring at the bruised flesh around his right eye.

No matter how hard he glowers at her, she doesn't move. "Obviously. One inch to the right and I'd be wearing an eye patch."

"Yes, we must be sure not to make any careless mistakes this time around," Phil says. "Last time was... unfortunate." He's still having a little trouble rotating his right shoulder.

"That's a very simple way of putting it, considering what actually happened," Kanzeon comments.

"I'd rather not relive that night in detail. Moving on to the information about this _upcoming_ operation..."

Shuya raises his head from the lunch packed for him by Kanzeon to see Phil looking at him. "Ah, yes. I received some more information from Kiristugu Hiragana regarding news on recent events. Apathy Syndrome is on the rise, once again, though currently victims have been found in pairs. Some have suggested it to be along the lines of a double suicide, but this is unlikely."

"Where the hell does this kid get his information?" Sasaki asks.

Shuya shrugs. "I am unsure. I did not ask him about his resources, though I have confirmed his information with what is reported online and in the newspapers. It is accurate."

"Good work, Shuya," Shiori praises him. He bears a small smile. "Couples, huh...? Well, if it's anything, one girl in my class has been diagnosed with Apathy Syndrome. It happened the night she went to, ah..." She hesitates a little, her face turning pink slightly. "... to Shirakawa Boulevard with her boyfriend. I'm not sure if it's true, but I heard her friends saying that he's been diagnosed with it, too."

Sasaki snickers at the implications. "Couples on Shirakawa Boulevard turning into zombies, huh...? Sounds like some kinda abstinence advertisement."

"Do you really have to be so crude?" Kanzeon asks, sighing. "I suppose we'll have to do some research there, then... I've never been there myself, but..."

"It'll be an adventure," Phil chuckles.

"What makes this Shirakawa Boulevard so adventurous?" Shuya asks, cocking his head to the side.

Both Kanzeon and Shiori turn red, while Phil and Sasaki hide their amused smiles (the former much better than the latter). "Y-you'll have to see it to believe it," Kanzeon concludes. Even if she's been "babying" Shuya, she's not ready to give him The Talk yet. Or ever. "Anyway, when's the date of the next full moon?" she asks, desperate to change the topic.

"July 7th," Phil answers.

Akio's head raises, and for the first time since lunch began it appears as though he's actually paying attention. "July 7th," he repeats quietly.

"Welcome to the world of the living," Sasaki snorts. "Thanks for tuning in at the last second."

"What is it, Akio?" Kanzeon asks.

"Ahh, nothing important," he says.

Shiori gives him a very stern look, though it doesn't cause him to budge. "Of course, it's something important! It's your birthday!"

"Birthdays aren't _really_ anything special, if you think about it," Akio replies. "Another year, you're older, and it keeps going on... It's not a big deal, I promise."

While his baby sister looks thoroughly nonplussed, Phil wears a smirk and places a hand on Akio's shoulder. "Well, we'll have to celebrate your birthday the best way."

Akio raises an eyebrow. "By ruining SEES?"

It's a joke, but Phil's expression is deadly serious. "Precisely."

* * *

Minato comes back from track to find almost everyone in the lounge, huddled around a distraught Yoshioka. "Are you _serious_?" Junpei asks, mouth hanging open. "Geez, I definitely expected Touma-senpai to be alot more discrete than that..."

Yukari thwacks the back of his head. "Stupei! That's not the issue!"

Ryuu, who's sitting on the couch between Hiyu and Ami, doesn't look up from his PS Vita. "Honestly, I could'a told ya he'd do that." At the incredulous looks he receives from the others, he explains, "He's in kendo club with me. He's kind of a pig. No offense, Yoshi."

The addressed throws her arms up in the air. "Ugh, well obviously you're right! I could've used the warning!"

Minato approaches them curiously. "What're you guys talking about?"

"Oh, cutie, you wouldn't believe it!" Yoshioka wails as she throws herself over the back of the couch to face him, lightly knocking into Ami in the process. "So Touma-senpai and I were on a date, you know—"

"What happened to Ren?"

"Ugh, younger men are not for me. That's been over for a while."

"You're the same age..."

Yoshioka gives him a stern look. "Minato, you're ruining my story." He smiles sheepishly as he sits down beside Junpei, silently urging her to continue. "Like I was saying, we were on a date, and we had _just_ started dating you know, so I thought we were going to Chagall or Wakatsu or something. Do you know where he took me?"

"Wuck Burger?"

The same penetrating glare. "No. Minato. He took me to Shirakawa Boulevard!"

While the girls around him groan, Minato looks to the other guys for some kind of explanation. He'd only lived on Tatsumi Port Island for a couple years when he was a kid, so it's hard for him to recall all the areas. "What's so special about Shirakawa Boulevard?" he asks.

"Are you serious, dude?" Junpei replies, exasperated.

"Well, it was constructed when he was still overseas," Akihiko says. "So unless he's been there recently, he wouldn't know what it is."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense..." Junpei leans in, though everyone's watching and listening anyway. "It's basically a string of _those_ kind of hotels."

"_Those_ hotels?" Minato repeats, still confused.

Junpei sighs. "C'mon, don't make me say it out loud." He clears his throat a little, looking fairly uncomfortable. "You know, the love hotels."

Minato blinks. "Oh."

"That's all you have to say!?" Yoshioka yells. "'Oh'!? Touma-senpai took me to Shirakawa Boulevard!"

"It's pretty obvious what his intentions were," Hiyu comments.

"Uh, duh! That's why I'm freakin' out here!" She runs her fingers through her honey-colored hair in frustration and makes a face of disgust. "I should probably break up with him or something, huh? I mean, I'm all for being forward, but that's a little _too_ forward..."

Yukari pats her on the back sympathetically. "Well, and you don't wanna be one of those couples who gets Apathy Syndrome together."

Yoshioka winces. "You're right. That would be embarrassing. Excuse me, I have some business to take care of." Grabbing her phone, she jumps over the back of the couch and dismisses herself to the opposite corner of the lounge. "Hello? Heeey, Touma-senpai..."

"How unfortunate," Ami says.

"Why do you say that?" Yukari asks.

"Well... I'd be upset if someone I loved was trying to take advantage of me like that."

Yukari smiles wryly. "Yeah, but I don't Yoshi actually loved Touma-senpai. I mean she liked him, obviously, but..." She lightly scratches her cheek, embarrassed to be talking about her friend's love life. "I'm sure she'll find someone better. Touma-senpai's a creep."

* * *

Nozomi Suemitsu is definitely one of Minato's more eccentric friends, which is saying something considering who he hangs out with. Most of their time spent together consists of eating at some restaurant (which he isn't totally against since he's usually starving by the end of the schol day), but he thinks that maybe he's seeing more to the Gourmet King. Earlier he'd hinted at something about a Paradise and Salvation. _"Preparing for the end of the world, maybe...?"_

He runs into Makiko on the way back to the dorm, though she looks like she's in a rush. "S-sorry, Minato-kun!" she says, apologizing quickly as she bows. "I got off work late today, and I promised Takeru's mother I'd help clean up the inn with her... There've been a lot of guests lately. I guess more people are hearing about Shirakawa Boulevard, so they're trying to find other places to stay 'cause they're worried about the rumors..." She sighs, shoulders drooping a little. "Still, it's obvious what they're trying to do, since they're high school students... The inn's pretty pricey, too."

There it is again, Shirakawa Boulevard. If this isn't an allusion to the near future, what is?

"That sounds rough," he says. "I hope it gets easier."

Makiko nods. "We're hoping it's just a phase... This could wind up being bad publicity for the inn, y'know, so Akamatsu-san's a little worried. People might start referring it to a love hotel of couples keep using it for that reason." She runs her fingers through her auburn hair, still perturbed, but turns a warm smile towards him. "Anyway, it's been a while since we've talked, Minato-kun. How're you doing?"

"I'm alright."

"Yeah? You look a little tired."

Minato self-consciously rubs at his eyes, feeling the bags underneath them. Sleep has been pretty scarce lately, even without Pharos randomly popping into his room to bring the Full Moon Omens. "I guess I am... Ekoda's lectures are pretty brutal, but..."

Even though she smiles, Minato feels like she can see through his lie. Makiko may not seem it, but she's very perceptive. "I know things around the city are pretty crazy, too," she says. "Don't let yourself get too tired out, okay? I know things are hard now, but you can make it through. You're strong."

Minato blinks, unsure where this is coming from. Nevertheless, he appreciates it, and he offers a small smile in exchange. "Yeah, thanks, Makiko. You, too."

She beams up, then skips a little ahead of him. "I really need to get to the inn, so I'll see you around. Be careful walking home! There are a lot of people with Apathy Syndrome around, and I hear there are some guys going around for 'revenge request website.' I haven't seen 'em, but I also don't go walking around a lot at night... Tell the others in your dorm to be careful, too."

"Yeah. Sure."

She waves, then trots off. "G'night, Minato-kun!"

He leans his head back, so that he admire the darkening sky. "Yeah," he says when she's already out of range, "goodnight."

* * *

_Closing Song:_ "It's Time" - Imagine Dragons

* * *

I love interacting with you guys and hearing your opinions, so I'm gonna throw in a question at the end of every chapter! Who are your favorite OCs in this fic? Other than your own, I mean. There's nothing wrong with loving your own OC, of course, but...

OH YEAH. So since we've hit the mark, reviews 150-165 will be randomized, and I'll pick someone who gets to choose a character they'd like a chapter to focus on. It can be a romantic scene, something more insightful, history, etc.

**xx, **der kapitan


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